THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

LIBRARY 


THE  WILMER  COLLECTION 

OF  CIVIL  WAR  NOVELS 

PRESENTED  BY 

RICHARD  H.  WILMER,  JR. 


>rt 


W&Q 


***** 


Tent  where  George  went  to  Church. 


Willie's  Portrait  of  Jeff.  Davi3. 


THE 


ORPHAN'S  HOME  MITTENS; 


AND 


GEORGE'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 

BATTLE  OF  ROANOKE  ISLAND. 


BEING 


THE  SIXTH  AND  LAST  BOOK  OF  THE  SERIES. 


BY 

AUNT   FANNY, 

ATJTHOB   OF   THE   BIX   HIGHTCAP    BOOKS,    ETO. 


&Gr 


NEW  YORK : 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

443  &  445  BROADWAY. 

LONDON:    16  LITTLE  BRITAIN. 

1865. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862,  by 

FANNY  BAEEOW, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

Southern  District  of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGl 

THE  ORPHAN'S  HOME  ;  in  which  is  introduced  "  New- 
Year's  Resolutions  "  and  "  The  Minister's  Story,"      1 
THE  BATTLE  OF  ROANOKE  ISLAND,       ...     96 
THE  LAST  OF  THE  MITTENS,                                 .      127 
MISS  SECESH, 134 


I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK 
TO     MY    DEAR     LITTLE 

LIZZIE  WAINWRIGHT, 

THE   GRANDDAUGHTER  OP 

A  FAITHFUL   AND  VALIANT  SOLDIER  OF  CHRIST, 

THE   DAUGHTER  OP 

A  LOYAL    AND    BRA  YE    NAVAL    OFFICER, 

A.ND     THE    NIECE    OP 

A  FRIEND  I  RESPECT  AND  LOVE. 


THE  ORPHAN'S   HOME. 

It  was  now  the  second  week  in  Jan- 
uary, 1862.  One  evening,  Aunt  Fanny- 
came  to  see  the  children.  In  an  instant, 
she  was  surrounded,  and  hugged,  and 
squeezed,  and  kissed,  till  she  was  certain 
they  had  loved  a  pound  or  two  off  her 
weight ;  but  then  they  put  it  on  again 
before  she  left,  by  making  her  laugh  so 
at  their  capers  and  talk,  that  she  said  she 
thought  she  could  feel  the  fat  growing; 
so  that  made  it  all  square  and  comfortable. 

"  I  read  such  a  charming  little  poem 
in  the  !  Independent '  some  weeks  ago," 
said  Aunt  Fanny. 

"  Tell  it  to  us !  we  want  to  hear  it !  " 
cried  the  children. 


8  THE    OBPHAutf's   HOME   MITTENS. 

"  How  do  you  suppose  I  can  remem- 
ber seven  long  verses  ?  I  do  recollect  one 
or  two,  but  that  is  because  I  suspect  the 
writer  had  you  children  in  his  eye  when 
he  wrote  them. 

"  Oh,  Aunt  Fanny  !  "  said  little  Willie, 
in  a  reproachful  tone,  "  we  didn't  get  into 
the  poor  man's  eye.  You  ought  to  be 
ashamed  to  tell  such  a  story  !  " 

Such  shouts  of  laughter  greeted  this 
speech,  that  an  old  lady  next  door,  hear- 
ing them  through  the  walls,  and  thinking 
they  were  cheers,  put  on  her  spectacles, 
and  hobbled  to  the  window,  expecting  to 
see  a  torchlight  procession — but  poor 
little  Willie,  after  wondering  a  moment, 
with  his  mouth  wide  open,  what  it  all 
meant,  rushed  up  to  his  mother,  and 
hiding  his  face  in  her  lapf  began  to  cry. 

"  Never  mind,  dear,"  she  said,  kissing 
him ;  "  Aunt  Fanny  meant  that  the  man 
was  thinking  about  you  when  he  wrote 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  9 

the  poetry.  Of  course,  she  knows  my 
little  Willie  wouldn't  poke  through  any- 
body's eye,  to  see  what  he  had  behind  it. 
Aunt  Fanny  made  use  of  what  is  called  a 
1  figure  of  speech.'     Don't  cry  any  more." 

Then  all  the  children  coaxed  him,  and 
kissed  him,  and  made  the  kitten  Mary 
O'Reilly  kiss  him,  at  which  he  burst  out 
laughing,  and  felt  quite  happy  again. 

The  crochet  needles  twinkled  and 
twitched  faster  than  ever,  as  Aunt  Fanny 
repeated  these  lines : 

"  Knit— knit— knit— 
If  you've  patriot  blood  in  your  veins  ! 

Knit — knit — knit — 
For  our  boys  on  Southern  plains. 
Our  boys  on  Southern  hills, 
Our  boys  on  Southern  vales, 
By  the  woods  and  streams  of  Dixie's  Land, 
Are  feeling  the  wintry  gales. 

"  Knit— knit— knit— 
The  socks,  and  mittens,  and  gloves ! 
vi.— 1* 


10  THE    OEPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS. 

Knit — knit — knit — 
Each  one  that  her  country  loves  ! 
The  mittens  with  finger  and  thumb  complete, 
The  gloves  for  the  drummers  their  drums  to  beat, 
And  the  nice  warm  socks  for  the  shivering  feet, 
Knit — knit — knit !  " 

"  Is  that  all  you  can  remember  ?  Oh, 
how  good  it  is  !  "  cried  the  children. 

"  Suppose  I  make  a  verse  ? "  said  the 
little  mother. 

"  Oh,  do  !  do  !  they  all  entreated. 

."  Well,  here  it  is : 

"  And  if  you  can't  knit — crochet !  * 
The  mittens  with  finger  and  thumb, 
The  old  ones  can  finish  a  pair  in  a  day, 

And  the  children  each  make  one. 
For  George,  and  his  comrades  brave, 
"Who  have  gone  our  country  to  save, 
Will  work  heart  and  hand,  till  we  make  Dixie's  land 
Repent  for  her  sins,  and  behave  !  " 

The  children  thought  this  a  capital 
verse,  and  Johnny  came  very  near  ex- 

*  Pronounced  croshay. 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  11 

claiming,  "  Bully  for  you."  Very  luckily, 
he  recollected  himself  in  time,  for  his 
mother  would  have  sent  him  to  bed  in 
"  double  quick,"  if  he  had  uttered  this 
vulgar,  slang  expression. 

"  I  had  a  talk  with  my  ten  naughty 
boys  to  day,"  said  Aunt  Fanny. 

"  Why,  where  in  the  world  did  you 
find  so  many  together?"  cried  Harry. 
Who  ever  heard  of  such  a  quantity  of 
bad  children  in  a  bunch  ? 

"  I  ought  to  have  said,"  she  answered, 
"  that  they  were  reported  to  me  some 
time  ago,  as  being  very  bad;  but  I  did 
not  find  them  so  dreadful  as  I  expected ; 
besides  which,  my  heart  softened  to  them, 
and  I  made  excuses  for  them  to  myself, 
because  they  are  all  orphans." 

"  Then  it  must  have  been  at  the 
Orphan's  Home,"  cried  the  children,  for 
they  knew  Aunt  Fanny  was  one  of  the 
managers. 


12  THE   OKPHAN's    HOME   MITTENS. 

"  Yes,  it  was  there ;  and  I  believe  I 
will  write  a  little  history  of  how  there 
came  to  be  this  Home  for  Orphans ;  and 
you  can  work  it  up  in  your  mittens. 

"  Oh,  yes,  do  !  how  long  will  it  take 
you?  We'll  write  to  George  that  these 
mittens  have  listened,  with  their  fingers 
and  thumbs  for  ears,  to  your  "  Orphan's 
Home"  story.  They  will  be  the  most 
interesting  mittens  of  all :  more  so,  than 
those  we  got  by  our  little  play." 

The  children  wished  George  had  ears 
a  hundred  miles  long,  so  he  could  hear 
all  these  wonderful  and  charming  stories 
too ;  but  as  they  did  not  know  of  any 
cornfield  where  such  long  ears  were  to 
be  found,  they  had  to  take  it  out  in  wish- 
ing;  and  thinking  what  a  hundred 
thousand  pities  it  was  that  the  fairies  had 
all  gone  to  No  Man's  Land,  or  they  would 
have  had  a  fine,  long  pair  of  ears  for 
George's  use,  marching  to  Washington, 


THE    OKPHAN's    HOME   MITTENS.  13 

straight  through  Baltimore,  without  stop- 
ping to  inquire  whether  they  might  come. 
Soon  after,  Aunt  Fanny  went  home. 
She  had  been  very  busy  the  latter  part 
of  the  month  of  December,  writing  letters- 
for  the  "  Great  Union  Fair,"  which  had 
been  held  in  the  city.  All  her  letters 
were  to  children.  I  wonder  if  the  children 
who  got  these  letters,  suspected  who  wrote 
them.  I  wonder  if  the  little  one  who  got 
this  "poetry  letter,"  tried  to  find  Aunt 
Fanny  out. 

u  You  precious  little  darling  ! 

I'm  very  glad  you've  come; 
How  did  you  leave  the  baby, 

And  all  the  folks  at  home  ? 
Just  take  a  look  around  you, 

At  the  pretty  things  you  see  ; 
Then  run  up  to  my  table, 

And  give  a  kiss  to  me." 

Aunt  Fanny  could  not  send  the  prom- 
ised story  until  the  last  week  in  January : 


14  THE    ORPHANS    HOME   MITTENS. 

but  when  it  came,  there  was  great  rejoic- 
ing; and  the  children  settled  themselves 
quicker  than  ever  they  did  before,  to  hear 
the  interesting  account  of 

THE  ORPHAN'S  HOME. 

"  And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name, 
receiveth  me." — Matthew  xviii.  5. 

Darling  Children: 

As  I  sat  here  thinking  how  to  begin 
my  story  of  the  "  Orphan's  Home,"  our 
Saviour's  beautiful  parable  of  "  the  grain 
of  mustard  seed "  came  into  my  mind ; 
and  that  you  may  see  how  well  it  applies 
to  what  I  am  about  to  relate,  I  will  copy 
it  here. 

"  Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto 
them,  saying : 

"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  to  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  a  man  took 
and  sowed  in  his  field : 

"  Which,  indeed,  is  the  least  of  all  seeds ; 


THE    ORPHAN'S   HOME    MITTENS.  15 

but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest 
among  herbs  ;  and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that 
the  birds  of  the  air  come  and  lodge  in 
the  branches  thereof." 

Just  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed  did 
this  great  charity  begin. 

More  than  ten  years  ago,  a  poor  man 
lay  in  a  miserable  bed,  dying.  His  little 
children  were  weeping  at  his  bedside,  for 
their  mother  had  gone  to  heaven  long 
before ;  and  they  did  not  know  who  to 
look  to  for  food  and  shelter,  when  they 
should  be  orphans. 

"  Oh,  that  I  could  take  you  with  me, 
my  poor  little  children ! "  moaned  the 
dying  father., 

Just  then  a  lady  entered  the  room. 
She  had  accidentally  heard  of  the  man  who 
had  been  ill  so  long,  and  she  had  come  in 
to  help  him. 

She  spoke  to  him  in  a  voice  of  so  much 
kindness,  that  he  started  up,  crying,  "  Oh, 


16  THE    OBPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

madam !  I  want  nothing  for  myself !  but 
I  would  get  on  my  knees  to  you  for  my 
children.  I  cannot  die  peacefully,  think- 
ing of  the  poverty  and  dreadful  tempta- 
tions to  which  they  will  be  exposed. 
Left  alone,  orphans  and  penniless,  who  is 
to  teach  them  the  way  to  heaven  \ " 

"  Take  comfort,  my  poor  friend,"  said 
the  kind  lady,  "  your  children  shall  not 
suffer  want." 

"  But  will  they  be  taught  to  know  and 
love  their  Saviour?"  he  asked,  looking 
at  her  with  an  expression  of  intense 
anxiety. 

"  Yes,  I  will  see  that  they  are  religious- 
ly brought  up." 

"  Promise  me  ! "  he  said  in  a  hoarse 
whisper,  for  the  excitement  had  exhausted 
him,  and  he  lay  panting  for  breath. 

"I  promise,"  answered  the  lady  sol- 
emnly. 

A   thankful    smile    flitted    over    the 


THE    ORPHANS    HOME    MITTENS.  11 

wasted    features;     and    looking    up,   he 
murmured,  "  Thank  God,  I  die  happy." 

A  comfortable  room  was  hired,  and 
the  children  were  placed  in  the  care  of 
a  kind  and  pious  woman.  The  little  or- 
phans soon  became  contented  and  happy. 
You  see  them  in  the  picture,  playing  on 
the  floor.  The  good  woman  went  out  to 
make  some  purchases,  which  the  boy  just 
coming  in  has  brought ;  a  young  girl  is 
staying  with  the  children  until  their  kind 
nurse  returns. 

This  is  the  grain  of  mustard  seed.  But 
before  long,  more  children  became  inmates 
of  this  one  room,  and  the  Eight  Keverend 
Bishop  Wainwright  and  the  other  good 
people  became  interested  in  this  truly 
Christian  work.  They  soon  found  that 
there  was  no-  home  for  destitute,  outcast 
children,  when  their  natural  parents  were 
taken  away,  who  belonged  to  the  Church 
by   baptism.      There    were    not    enough 


18  THE   ORPHANS    H03IE   MITTEN'S. 

Orphan  Asylums  in  this  city ;  for  numbers 
were  brought  to  them,  who  could  not  get 
into  these  other  institutions,  because  they 
were  full.  It  seemed  as  if  God  himself 
had  called  upon  them  in  behalf  of  these 
little  ones.  And  thus  it  was  that  this 
institution  began. 

Then  the  good  Bishop  "Wainwright, 
who  is  now  gone  home  to  heaven,  became 
President ;  Rev.  Dr.  Hawks,  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  and  a  number  of  excellent  clergy- 
men and  gentlemen  were  the  managers, 
while  as  many  ladies  were  formed  into  a 
Ladies'  Committee. 

The  grain  of  mustard  seed  had  sprung 
up,  and  its  leaves  unfolding  more  and 
more,  made  it  necessary  to  find  a  larger 
space  for  it  to  grow.  So  a  three-story 
house  in  Hammond  street  was  taken,  and 
before  long,  twenty  happy  children  were 
living  there. 

Oh,  how  hard  the  ladies  worked  in 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  19 

those  few  first  years !  The  money  came 
slowly  in ;  but  they  never  grew  faint- 
hearted. More  and  rnore  poor  little  or- 
phans came  to  their  door,  begging  for  a 
home,  and  the  living  care  which  their  own 
mothers,  dead  and  gone,  could  never  more 
bestow.  The  house  was  soon  filled,  and  a 
more  contented  family  of  children  could 
nowhere  be  found.  The  kind  matron 
loved  them  all,  and  worked  with  the 
teacher  night  and  day  to  make  them  good 
and  happy. 

The  "  Orphan's  Home,"  as  it  was  now 
called,  continued  for  some  years  in  Ham- 
mond street.  Then  it  was  removed  to 
two  houses  in  West  Thirty-ninth  street, 
and  the  ladies  who  had  formed  the  commit- 
tee now  became  the  officers,  with  the  Eight 
Eeverend  Bishop  Potter  and  a  number  of 
clergymen  and  gentlemen  to  advise  them. 
Bishop  Potter,  you  know,  had  taken  the 
place  of  the  late  excellent  Bishop  Wain- 


20       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

wright ;  whom  I  esteemed  and  respected 
more  than  I  have  words  to  express.  I 
wish,  my  darlings,,  you  could  have  heard 
him  read  the  parables  of  our  Saviour ;  or 
the  glorious  promises  contained  in  the 
gospels.  Their  deep  and  blessed  meaning, 
coming  from  his  lips,  seemed  so  simple 
and  clear,  for  he  read  them  with  such 
admirable  emphasis  and  point.  I  never 
listened  to  his  preaching  or  reading,  with- 
out a  thrill  in  my  heart,  and  the  tears 
often  dwelling  in  my  eyes.  It  was  at  the 
request  of  his  good  and  lovely  daughter, 
for  whom  I  have  a  sincere  and  warm 
affection,  and  who  was  at  the  time  treas- 
urer of  the  Orphan's  Home,  and  one  of  its 
very  best  and  most  generous  friends,  that 
I  became  a  manager. 

You  would  have  thought  that  two  large 
houses  would  have  been  room  enough  ;  but 
our  grain  of  mustard  seed  was  now  a  great 
tree,  in  the  branches  of  which  many  more 


THE    OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS.  21 

little  orphan  birds  must  have  a  warm  nest, 
and  be  lodged  and  fed;  and,  above  all, 
taught  the  Way  of  Life.  But  there  was 
no  room.  The  ladies  who  composed  the 
Board  of  Managers  put  their  wise  heads 
together,  and  concluded  to  ask  all  good 
Christian  people  to  help  them.  How 
could  they  turn  away  from  the  cry  of 
these  little  desolate  ones,  when  the  Good 
Shepherd  and  His  servants  in  the  work, 
these  kind  ladies,  were  ready  with  heart 
and  hand  to  watch  over  and  protect  a 
larger  flock  of  these  His  poor  little  lambs  ? 

But  there  was  no  room  ! 

The  appeal  was  made,  and  with  grate- 
ful joy  they  saw  the  money  flowing  into 
the  trustees'  hands  in  loving  streams. 
Soon  enough  was  collected  to  warrant  the 
commencing  of  the  building,  in  whose 
wide  halls  and  great  airy  rooms  hundreds 
of  motherless  and  fatherless  children  could 
live,  and  move,  and  play. 


22       the  okphan's  home  mittens. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  1860,  the  cor- 
ner-stone  was  laid.  For  fear  you  might 
not  know  exactly  what  laying  a  corner- 
stone means,  I  will  tell  you  as  well  as 
I  can. 

When  a  large  building  is  to  be  put  up, 
the  foundation  is  dug,  and  a  very  large 
square  stone  is  placed  in  one  of  the  cor- 
ners, which  stone  has  a  small  hollow  in 
the  top  of  it. 

When  this  much  has  been  done,  every- 
body interested  is  invited  to  the  place,  and 
religious  services  are  performed  in  the  open 
air,  the  people  standing  reverently  around. 

Then  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  daily  newspapers,  the  coins  that  are  in 
circulation  for  money,  the  previous  history 
of  the  institution,  if  it  has  any,  and  every- 
thing else  that  may  seem  proper  or  inter- 
esting to  the  occasion,  is  placed  in  the 
hole.  The  most  distinguished  person  pres- 
ent takes  a  trowel  and  some  mortar  and 


THE   OKPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  23 

closes  it  up.      On  this  the  wall  of  the 
building  is  laid. 

If,  in  after  years,  it  should  be  pulled 
down,  it  would  be  very  interesting  to  take 
out  and  look  over  the  things  that  have 
been  buried  so  long  in  the  corner-stone. 

I  was  not  present  when  our  corner- 
stone was  laid,  and  I  never  saw  the  cere- 
mony ;  but  I  believe  I  have  given  you  the 
right  idea  about  it. 

"While  the  new  Home  was  building, 
the  children  were  well  and  happy  in 
Thirty-ninth  street. 

We  had  some  little  ones,  whose  his- 
tories were  very  sad.  There  was  George 
Floyd,  whose  father  was  mate  of  a  vessel 
which  must  have  been  wrecked  and  lost  at 
sea,  for  she  went  out  from  New  York,  and 
was  never  more  heard  from. 

And  there  was  little  Dickey,  who  had 
a  cruel  stepmother.  She  ordered  him  to 
make  a  fire  in  the  stove ;  his  clothes  caught 


24       the  okphan's  home  mittens. 

the  flame,  and  lie  was  dreadfully  burned. 
The  bad  stepmother  did  nothing  to  heal 
the  wounds,  and  he  was  found  in  this  state, 
suffering  terrible  pain,  and  brought  to  the 
Home,  and  tenderly  nursed  till  he  got  well. 
And  little  Mary  Canard,  who  took  care 
of  her  dying  mother,  though  she  was  only 
six  years  old,  whose  father  was  killed  on 
Captain  Peak's  vessel.  And  one  dear  lit- 
tle boy  we  lost.  He  was  twelve  years  old, 
and  very  good  and  intelligent.  He  had 
that  dreadful  and  almost  always  fatal  ill- 
ness, membranous  croup : — a  kind  of  false 
skin  very  thick  and  tough  grows  in  the 
throat,  so  that  it  becomes  impossible  to 
breathe  or  swallow.  The  poor  little  fel- 
low seemed  to  realize  that  he  was  going  to 
die.  He  told  his  belief  to  his  kind  nurses, 
and  said,  "  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  had  been  con- 
firmed !  how  I  wish  I  had  promised  God 
that  I  would  try  to  lead  a  good  life  and 
keep  His  commandments." 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.  25 

At  liis  request  Bishop  Southgate,  who 
has  always  been  very  kind  to  the  children, 
was  sent  for.  He  read  and  prayed  with 
him ;  then  laying  his  hands  softly  on  the 
dying  boy's  head,  implored  a  blessing  for 
him. 

A  joyful  light  beamed  from  the  little 
fellow's  eyes;  his  whole  countenance  be- 
came irradiated  with  happiness,  and  in  ac- 
cents of  grateful  delight  he  exclaimed, 
"  Oh,  the  bishop  has  blessed  me  !  "  In  a 
few  hours  afterward  his  Saviour  called 
him,  and  his  gentle  spirit  passed  away 
from  earth,  to  love  and  serve  God  forever 
in  heaven. 

All  the  rest  of  our  children  kept  in 
excellent  health,  and  most  of  them  were 
good  and  obedient.  The  ladies  worked 
very  hard,  and,  with  God's  blessing,  all 
things  went  on  well. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  this  year,  1860, 

that  I  became  a  manager ;  and,  you  may 
vi.— 2 


26        the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

be  sure,  I  soon  coaxed  the  ladies  who  had 
been  in  the  institution  longest,  to  tell  me 
what  I  have  already  written. 

In  the  latter  part  of  April,  1861,  the 
grand  move  took  place  ;  and  on  the  night 
of  the  2 2d,  the  orphans  slept  in  two  splen- 
did great  rooms  called  dormitories.  Nice 
little  iron  bedsteads  had  been  provided, 
with  comfortable  mattresses,  sheets,  blank- 
ets, and  white  dimity  spreads ;  and  they 
looked  so  cosy  and  comfortable  I  should 
have  liked  to  have  slept  there  myself.  The 
boys  have  the  dormitory  nearest  Lexing- 
ton avenue,  and  the  girls  the  other.  Open- 
ing out  of  each  is  a  nice  large  washroom, 
with  dear  little  bath  tubs,  wash  basins,  &c, 
just  as  comfortable  as  it  can  possibly  be. 
On  the  same  floor  are  the  matron's  and 
teacher's  rooms,  and  some  very  large 
closets,  where  all  the  children's  clothes 
are  kept. 

Of  course,  as  soon  as  we  got  a  little  bit 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.  27 

settled,  we  determined  to  have  a  reception, 
and  give  all  the  friends  we  invited  a  first- 
rate  time.  We  knew  they  would  like  it 
all  the  better  if  they  could  help  us  along 
when  they  made  us  this  visit :  so  we  got  up 
a  beautiful  little  fair  and  refreshment  table. 
Oh,  how  kind  everybody  was  !  If  I 
dared  I  would  tell  you  the  names  of  all 
the  ladies,  who  made  all  manner  of  pretty 
things,  and  sent  in  oysters,  ice  cream,  cakes, 
and  almost  everything  good  to  eat  that 
was  ever  heard  of ;  but  these  lovely  Chris- 
tian people  prefer  to  do  good  in  secret. 
If  I  were  to  have  their  names  printed  they 
might  pinch  my  ears,  and  I  should  not  like 
that.  But  I  will  tell  you  this  much.  I 
went  and  only  just  asked  Rev.  Dr.  Dyer, 
of  the  Evangelical  Knowledge  Society,  to 
give  the  orphan's  fair  some  books,  and  he 
said  "  Yes "  so  quickly  that  I  was  aston- 
ished, and  began  to  believe  that  there 
were  some  people  in  the  world  who  were 


28        the  orphan's  ho:me  mittens. 

really  glad  to  be  asked  to  do  a  kindness 
for  others.  Then  I  went  to  the  Episcopal 
Sunday  School  Union,  and  just  asked  for 
books  there,  and  they,  too,  said  uYes," 
right  away ;  and  then  I  went  to  your 
friends  the  Messrs.  Appleton,  and  they, 
too,  said  "Yes,"  immediately ;  and  that 
night  three  great  packages  of  books  came 
up  for  the  Orphan's  Home.  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  any  thing  kinder  ? 

I  believe  I  must  tell  you  of  some  of  the 
rest.  There  was  one  of  our  managers,  a 
lovely  young  lady  with  beautiful  brown 
eyes,  who  seemed  to  feel  as  if  she  never 
could  do  enough.  I  don't  know  what  she 
did  not  give  ;  for  so  many  presents  came 
in  her  name  that  there  seemed  to  be  no 
end  to  them.  She  even  furnished  the  lit- 
tle recitation  room  entirely,  and  bought 
quite  an  apothecary  shop  of  medicines,  so 
that  the  children  might  have  plenty  when 
they  were  ill. 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.  29 

Then  the  young  ladies  of  the  u  Helping 
Hand  of  St.  Mark's  Church"  sent  us  a 
number  of  beautiful  things.  One  of  our 
managers,  who  had  a  fine  conservatory, 
sent  in  a  quantity  of  flowers,  which  we 
made  into  bouquets,  and  put  into  baskets, 
and  sold  for  a  good  deal  of  money. .  We 
had  a  present  of  a  flagstaff  from  Mr.  Niblo, 
of  Xiblo's  Garden,  and  one  of  the  lady 
managers  gave  us  the  flag,  and  on  the  re* 
ception  day  it  was  waving  over  the  Home. 
It  would  fill  several  pages  to  tell  all  the 
nice  things  that  came — so  I  will  hasten  on. 

We  had  a  three  clays'  reception  in  one 
of  the  great  rooms,  the  14th,  15th,  and 
16th  of  May.  They  were  opened  on  the 
first  day  with  religious  services,  and  were 
all  delightful.  We  had  the  carpenters  to 
come  and  build  tiers  of  seats  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  room,  one  above  the  other, 
reaching  nearly  to  the  ceiling ;  and  each 
day  the  orphans  marched  in  two  and  two, 


30  THE   ORPHANS    HOME   MITTENS. 

and  were  placed  in  the  seats,  to  see  all 
that  was  going  on.  Sometimes  they  would 
sing  hymns  for  us,  and  other  times  they 
sang  "  Jim  Crack  Corn  "  and  "  Dixie,"  and 
other  funny  songs. 

One  day  a  kind  lady  gave  them  each  a 
ten  cent  piece,  and  they  came  down  in  a 
great  hurry  to  spend  them  immediately. 
We  managed  to  have  a  good  many  things 
to  cost  only  ten  cents  that  were  marked 
much  higher,  so  that  the  dear  little  things 
should  have  just  what  they  fancied. 

Then  a  gentleman  gave  them  each  a 
chance,  which  he  paid  for,  in  a  great  cake ; 
and  I  wish  you  could  have  heard  the  clap- 
ping of  hands,  and  hurrahing,  when  a  boy 
they  all  liked  won  it.  Of  course  he  gave 
them  all  a  piece,  and  they  enjoyed  it  tre- 
mendously. I  really  was  afraid  some  of 
them  would  be  ill,  they  had  so  much  cake 
and  candy. 

The  great  fun  of  all  to  the  children 


THE   OEPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  31 

was  to  eat  philopenas  with  the  ladies.  I 
do  believe  I  eat  about  twenty-five.  Of 
course  I  never  meant  to  catch  them  ;  but 
I  pretended  to  be  very  much  astonished 
when  they  caught  me,  and  when  I  went 
home  to  my  dinner  I  got  a  basket,  and  put 
in  it  twenty-five  great  rosy-cheeked  apples 
to  pay  for  my  philopenas.  I  thought  these 
were  much  better  for  them  than  so  much 
candy ;  and  when  I  handed  them  out,  the 
children  looked  highly  delighted. 

When  the  fair  was  over,  we  were  sur- 
prised to  find  how  much  money  we  had 
taken,  and  very  grateful  too.  Some  of  our 
pretty  things  were  left,  and  we  put  these 
carefully  by  for  our  winter  fair  ;  and  after 
a  little  while  we  settled  down  quite  com- 
fortably in  the  new  Home. 

The  summer  passed  quietly  away ; 
everything  seemed  to  go  on  happily,  al- 
though we  had  very  hard  work  to  collect 
money  enough  to  keep  us  out  of  debt. 


32        the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

You  see  the  terrible  war  was  now  rasrmor, 
and  all  the  charitable  institutions  were 
suffering,  because  everybody  was  anxious 
to  do  all  they  could  for  the  soldiers. 

We  took  three  children  belonging  to 
volunteers  who  had  no  one  to  leave  them 
with,  and  we  had  one  poor  little  fellow 
from  Fort  Sumter.  -  He  was  born  in  the 
fort,  and  soon  after  abandoned  by  his 
mother,  who  became  a  very  wicked  wo- 
man. Then  his  father — who  was  a  good 
soldier — was  sent  to  Florida  to  help  fight 
against  the  Indians,  and  was  killed :  and 
poor  little  Richard  was  left  alone  in  the 
world,  with  no  one  to  take  care  of  him 
but  an  old  woman,  who  washed  the  sol- 
diers' clothes  and  worked  in  the  fort. 
After  the  wicked  and  dreadful  attack  on 
the  handful  of  half-starved  soldiers,  who 
were  so  heroically  guarding  their  country's 
flag  and  honor,  but  who  were  forced  to 
surrender,    the   brave   Major   Doubleday, 


Bombardment  <>t  Fort  Sunirer. 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.  33 

hearing  of  our  Home,  sent  the  poor  little 
fellow  on  to  us,  and  we  were  very  glad  to 
give  him  shelter,  and  make  him  as  happy 
as  we  could. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  that  sad  scene. 
The  cannonading  is  still  going  on,  while 
they  are  carrying  away  from  the  ram- 
parts two  wounded  men.  You  see  in  the 
picture,  they  are  feeling  the  heart  of  one 
of  them,  hoping  that  it  still  beats.  Do 
you  see  the  brave  fellow  who  is  planting 
the  flag  ?  I  must  tell  you  about  him.  He 
is  a  Mr.  Hart.  When  Mrs.  Anderson 
wanted  to  go  on  to  Charleston  to  see  her 
husband,  whose  health  was  very  delicate, 
Mr.  Hart  escorted  her.  He  stayed  in  the 
fort,  and  was  there  during  the  right. 
When  our  glorious  flag  was  shot  down, 
Mr.  Hart  seized  it,  nailed  it  to  a  pole, 
bounded  up  on  the  ramparts,  and  planted 
it  again,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  men. 

I  think  it  was  a  splendid  thing  to  have 
vi.— 2* 


34  THE    OKPHAST's    H03IE   MITTENS. 

done  !  General  Anderson  has  that  stained, 
torn,  but  priceless  flag  now ;  and  he  says 
he  is  only  waiting  to  plant  it  once  more 
with  his  own  hands  over  Fort  Sumter. 
He  has  one  dear  little  boy,  who  is  named 
Robert  after  him.  I  think  Robbie,  as  they 
call  him,  ought  to  be  a  proud  boy;  for 
his  father  will  leave  him  what  is  far  above 
untold  gold — a  spotlesss  and  honorable 
name. 

One  dear  little  boy  died  at  this  time, 
who  had  formerly  lived  in  the  Home. 
He  had  been  a  long  time  ill  with  an  incur- 
able spine  disease,  and  it  had  been  thought 
better  to  remove  him  to  St.  Luke's  Hos- 
pital, that  noble  charity,  where  delicate, 
refined  ladies  go  to  live  as  nurses.  Here 
he  had  the  tenderest  care ;  but  nothing 
could  save  his  life ;  and  shortly  before  he 
died,  he  sent  to  us  begging  us  to  let  him 
see  some  of  his  little  companions,  to  bid 
them  good-by,  and  to  entreat  them  to  be 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  35 

good,  so  tliat  they  might  meet  him  again 
in  heaven.  It  was  a  peaceful,  happy 
death. 

Toward  November,  we  began  to  think 
of  our  winter  fair,  and  make  prepara- 
tions, for  we  concluded  to  have  it  about 
Thanksgiving  day.  After  the  fan,  we 
intended  to  have  a  festival  for  the  chil- 
dren, on  our  anniversary  evening,  which 
would  be  on  the  26th  of  December. 

The  fair  was  a  very  nice  one.  It  lasted 
three  days  ;  and  everybody  that  came  was 
so  kind  !  and  seemed  to  feel  such  a  tender 
interest  in  our  little  orphans,  that  I 
wanted  to  make  a  speech,  and  tell  them 
they  were  all  darlings,  old  and  young. 
This  time,  as  before,  we  made  more  money 
than  we  expected ;  and  when  the  fair  was 
over,  some  lovely  lady,  who  would  not 
tell  her  name,  sent  us  a  present  of  enough 
beautiful  brown  cloth  ^Sv make  each  of 
our  girls  a  warm  cloak ;   and  to  render 


36         THE   OEPHAjS's  home  mittens. 

our  happiness  complete  at  this  time,  our 
treasurer  got  a  letter,  telling  her  and  us, 
that  more  than  seven  hundred  dollars 
were  coming  to  us  from  the  "  State  Fund." 

I'll  just  tell  you  what  we  lady  man- 
agers did  when  we  heard  that.  We  gave 
three  cheers  !  and  two  or  three  (I  was 
one)  danced  round  the  room,  laughing 
and  shouting  like  crazy  school-girls.  Don't 
you  think  I  was  a  frisky  old  soul  ? 

The  children  were  remarkably  good 
about  this  time.  They  knew  very  well, 
that  Christinas  brought  presents  to  them, 
in  that  kind  Home ;  they  knew  they 
would  have  everything  but  a  mother's  or 
father's  warm  loving  kiss  on  that  blessed 
holiday.  But,  oh,  my  darlings  !  it  seems 
to  me  that  a  mother's  kiss  was  worth  all 
the  rest ;  and  that  we  could  not  give 
them.  Cherish  and  love  your  parents, 
for  they  are  the  dearest  earthly  friends 
you  can  have. 


THE    ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  37 

Well,  our  children — as  we  managers 
always  call  them — had  a  fine  Christmas 
dinner.  Bless  their  little  hearts !  they 
got  lots  of  roast  turkey  and  pumpkin  pie 
that  day,  as  well  as  the  best  of  us.  The 
evening  of  the  next  day  was  to  be  the 
festival. 

The  kind  ladies  from  Trinity  Chapel 
had  sent  us  a  tall  tree,  upon  which  we 
meant  to  hang  our  presents.  The  im- 
portant thing  was,  to  have  the  presents 
for  all ;  and  to  make  sure  of  this,  I,  for 
one,  wrote  an  appeal,  and  mustering  up 
my  courage,  marched  down  town  with  it 
the  week  before  to  some  of  the  news- 
paper offices,  which  is  not  very  pleasant 
to  do,  for  you  have  to  mount  to  the  very 
top  story ;  and  it  is  pretty  inky  in  every 
direction — all  except  in  the  good  editors' 
hearts,  which  were  full  of  loving  kind- 
ness, warm  and  glowing.  I  made  a  speech 
to  each  of  these  gentlemen,  and  was  very 


38         the  okphan's  HOME  MITTENS. 

polite,  and  told  them  all  about  the  or- 
phans. You  can  see  for  yourself  what 
dear  old  darlings  they  were  !  for  every  one 
of  them  put  this  notice  in  their  papers 
for  me,  and  all  I  had  to  pay  were  two 
words,  which  were  "  Thank  you." 

Here  is  the  notice :  "  Will  all  the 
mothers  please  to  remember  in  these  holi- 
day times,  the  Orphan's  Home  in  Forty- 
ninth  street,  near  Lexington  Avenue  ?  The 
poor  little  inmates  of  this  institution  de- 
pend solely  on  those  who  love  children  to 
make  Christmas  a  day  of  rejoicing  to  them, 
and  thus  presents  of  skates,  balls,  com- 
mon jack-knives,  kites,  tops,  marbles,  and 
books,  for  boys  ;  and  dolls,  tea  sets,  cheap 
work-boxes,  jumping  ropes,  books,  etc., 
for  girls — would  be  eagerly  and  gratefully 
received,  and  each  mother  who  feels 
nightly  the  '  little  tight  clasp '  of  her 
sweet  little  Kate  or  dear  little  Harry,  will 
surely   remember   with   loving    pity   the 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS. 


39 


desolate  orphans,  in  whose  hearts,  at  such 
times  of  rejoicing,  notwithstanding  the 
kindest  treatment,  the  sorrowful  cry  must 
arise,  '  I  have  no  mother— my  mother  is 
dead ! '  And  so  we  heseech  you,  mothers, 
remember  these  orphans." 

Early  in  the  morning,  after  Christmas 
Day  the  managers  went  to  the  Home  to 
make  preparations  for  the  evening.  We 
worked  like  bees,  to  get  the  great  room 
ready.  At  the  lower  end  were  arranged 
the  benches,  which  went  up,  one  above 
the  other,  nearly  to  the  ceiling,  as  I  told  you. 
On  these  the  little  orphans  were  to  sit. 

Exactly  opposite,  at  the  other  end, 
we  fastened  the  tremendous  Christmas 
Tree,  that  was  sent  us  from  Trinity 
Chapel.  Then  the  presents  began  to  pour 
in "  Dolls,  drums,  balls,  tops,  books,  and 
all  sorts  of  pretty  things ;  and  we  mounted 
step  ladders,  and  tied  them  to  the  branches 
of  our  tree.    I  should  think  there  were 


40  THE    ORPHANS    HOME   MITTENS. 

hundreds  of  cornucojjias — so  many  kind 
people  had  sent  candy,  and  a  great  many 
bags  of  blue  and  pink  tarleton  filled  with 
candy.  Ah  !  then  I  found  out  that  there 
were  plenty  of  good  mothers  and  loving 
hearts  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

When  we  had  covered  the  tree  in 
every  direction,  we  stopped,  and  stared  at 
each  other ;  and  then  I  said,  "  Dear  me  ! 
what  shall  we  do  with  all  that  is  left ! " 

"  I  think  we  shall  have  to  spread  them 
out  on  a  large  table,"  said  our  kind  and 
lovely  first  directress,  who  had  been  with 
the  orphans  from  the  very  beginning, 
when  the  charity  was  only  the  little  grain 
of  mustard  seed ;  and  who  loved  them 
like  her  own  children. 

Just  at  that  moment,  the  matron  came 
in  and  said  that  the  congregation  of  the 
Bishop  Wainwright  Memorial  Church  in 
Hammond  street,  had  sent  us  a  large  tree 
and  some  lanterns. 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  41 

You  may  believe  that  we  were  per- 
fectly delighted  with  this  news  ;  and  the 
tree  was  soon  hauled  in.  Then  we  had 
to  move  our  tree  so  as  to  make  a  place  for 
the  new  one ;  on  which  it  was  decided 
to  fasten  with  the  others  a  number  of 
most  beautiful  little  lanterns,  with  fine 
artistic  designs  painted  on  them,  that  had 
been  brought  in  by  the  kind,  good 
daughter  of  our  excellent  Bishop.  She 
was  one  of  the  managers,  and  took  the 
most  unwearied  interest  in  the  children. 
She  and  some  of  her  friends  had  made 
these  lanterns. 

So  the  pretty  things  were  carefully 
fastened  to  the  branches  of  the  new  tree, 
with  tapers  inside  ready  for  lighting,  and 
the  rest  of  our  presents  were  soon  flourish- 
ing up  there  too,  making  such  a  grand 
show,  that  I  thought  the  children,  when 
they  saw  it  all,  would  certainly  go  crazy 
with  delight. 


42       the  oephan's  home  mtttexs. 

It  was  now  quite  late  in  the  after- 
noon, and  we  were  pretty  tired ;  and  after 
taking  one  last  look  around,  to  see  if 
everything  had  been  done,  the  doors  were 
locked,  and  we  went  to  our  homes  to 
dinner. 

When  I  got  back,  the  children  were 
all  ready,  dressed  as  neat  as  new  pins,  and 
sitting  on  the  grand,  wide  flight  of  stairs 
in  the  hall.  Their  eyes  were  sparkling, 
and  they  had  hard  work  to  sit  still, 
knowing  that  there  was  something  won- 
derful for  them,  locked  up  in  the  great  room. 

Some  of  the  company  we  had  invited, 
had  come  ;  and  very  soon  after,  there  was 
quite  a  crowd  of  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
and  their  children,  standing  wherever 
there  was -room,  and  looking  with  affec- 
tionate interest  at  our  orphans. 

A  small  platform  had  been  put  in  the 
middle  of  the  hall,  on  which  were  placed 
a   desk    and   chair.      This   was    for    the 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  43 

Bishop ;  but  as  lie  could  not  come,  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Hobart  was  made  chairman. 

We  had  prayers,  and  the  children  sang 
a  beautiful  hymn.     Then  the  annual  re- 
port was  read,  telling  the  company  what  a 
pleasant  time  we  all  had  enjoyed  in  our 
new  Institution  ;  how  well  and  happy  the 
children  had  been,  and  how  grateful  we 
were  to  God,  and  the  kind  friends,  who 
had  given  such  a  beautiful  and  comfort- 
able    home    to    these    desolate   orphans. 
After  the  report,  the  trustees  and  man- 
agers were  elected  for  the  next  year ;  and 
then  Dr.  Weston,  one  of  the  assistant  min- 
isters of  Trinity  Parish,  and  the  chaplain 
of  our  famous  Seventh  Eegiment,  made  a 
capital  address,  which  pleased  the  children 
very  much,  for  it  was  very  short  as  well 
as  very  good.     After  him  came  Dr.  Dyer, 
who  always  looks  as  grave  and  dignified 
as    possible;     but    who    loves    children 
dearly,  and  knows  perfectly  well  how  to 


44       the  oephan's  home  mittens. 

tell  theni  entertaining  stories,  and  make 
them  laugh,  while  he  keeps  on  his  grave 
face  the  whole  time.  He  also  made  an 
excellent  address. 

It  was  not  intended,  this  time,  to  be 
amusing,  for  he  spoke  to  the  children  of 
the  freezing  night  outside,  in  which  many 
a  poor  little  beggar  might  be  shivering, 
without  food  or  shelter,  while  they  were 
in  this  Home,  which  the  warm  love  of  the 
ladies,  through,  the  blessing  of  God,  had 
obtained  for  them  :  but  that  this  was  not 
all — the  greatest  of  their  blessings  was, 
that  there  they  were  taught  to  know  and 
love  their  Saviour,  who  had  died  for  them, 
and  him,  and  all  the  people  upon  earth. 

Then  he  turned  to  the  company  pres- 
ent, and  said  it  was  their  sacred  duty  to 
take  care  of  helpless  orphan  children,  and 
he  hoped  they  would  each  make  a  resolu- 
tion that  night  to  support  one  orplian 
child  the  coming  year. 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  45 

I  told  liis  wife  that  he  was  a  perfect 
darling  for  saying  this  ;  but  I  did  not  dare 
to  say  so  to  him.  I  only  hope  the  good 
people  made  a  determination  to  adopt  his 
suggestions.  Then  the  children,  and  all 
of  us,  sang  the  Doxology,  and  then  the 
grand  time  came.  The  large  sliding  doors 
of  the  great  room  were-  pushed  back,  and 
the  children,  coming  down  from  the  stairs, 
were  marshalled  two  by  two,  while  the 
company  looked  on. 

Of  course  the  children  were  to  go  in 
first.  It  would  never  have  done  for  us  to 
have  had  the  first  look.  Certainly  not; 
so  I  said,  "  They  are  the  officers  to  night ; 
we  must  march  behind." 

Many  a  little  hand  grasped  mine,  as 
I  stood  by  to  let  them  pass,  and  many  a 
bright  eye  was  raised  to  mine,  with  a 
whispered  "  Aunt  Fanny "  from  their 
smiling  lips.  After  they  were  in,  we 
marched   after,   in   all    sorts   of    crooked 


46         THE  OKPHAjSt's  hcxme  mittens. 

ways;  and  I  really  don't  know  which 
sparkled  most,  the  splendid  trees  or  the 
children's  eyes.  Yes — I  think  upon  the 
whole,  the  eyes  were  the  brighter ;  and 
such  a  quantity  of  delighted  "  Oh's  "  and 
"  Only  look's,"  I  never  heard  before. 

Oh  me !  it  was  such  a  crowd !  I 
ought  to  know,  for  they  made  me  one  of 
the  waiters,  to  carry  the  presents  from  the 
trees  to  the  children  ;  and  I  got  squeezed 
flat  twenty  times.  And  then  the  noise ! 
the  shouts  of  delight  and  laughter,  as 
little  eager  hands  were  stretched  out  to 
receive  the  gifts !  It  was  worth  at  least 
a  dollar  apiece  to  see  so  much  happiness ; 
and  I  really  think  that  everybody  who 
comes  to  the  next  festival,  might  as  well 
put  a  dollar  in  the  little  box  near  the 
front  door. 

Everybody  in  the  Home  got  presents, 
and  the  greatest  quantity  of  candies ;  and 
everything  went   off    successfully.      The 


THE    ORPHANS    HOME   MITTENS.  47 

children  were  to  have  holiday  from  school, 
that  is,  more  play  than  usual  between 
Christmas  and  New  Year ;  and  I  am 
sure  they  had  a  happy  time  with  their 
new  toys. 

Some  weeks  "before  this,  I  had  been  put 
on  the  school  committee.  This  is  com- 
posed of  three  of  the  managers,  who  are 
specially  appointed  to  visit  the  school, 
every  day  if  they  like,  see  what  is  wanted 
in  the  way  of  books,  &c,  hear  the  report 
of  the  teacher  about  the  conduct  of  the 
children,  and  give  plenty  of  advice. 

The  very  first  thing  I  did  when  I  be- 
came a  school  committee  woman,  was  to 
march  right  into  the  school  room,  and  nod 
and  smile  at  as  many  children  as  I  pos- 
sibly could ;  saying  to  myself,  u  Poor  lit- 
tle kittens,  how  I  love  them."  I  suppose 
I  might  as  well  have  said  it  out  aloud, 
for  the  children  seem  to  read  it  in  my  face 
somehow;   and  they  bobbed  their  heads 


48       the  okphan's  home  mittens. 

at  me,  and  grinned  all  round  their 
mouths. 

Then  I  went  up  and  shook  hands  very 
politely  with  the  teacher.  She  looked 
pretty  grim ;  but  I  put  on  a  tremendous 
smile,  and  asked  if  I  might  speak  to  the 
children. 

She  said,  "  Certainly ; "  and  then  I 
went  anions;  them. 

"  What's  your  name  ? "  I  said  to  a 
pleasant-looking  boy. 

"  Jacob,"  he  said.   • 

"  What  are  you  learning,  Jacob  % " 

"  Catechism,  ma'am ;  and  it's  so  hard 
I  can't  understand  a  word  of  it ;  besides 
which,  the  lesson  is  so  dreadful  long !  I've 
got  to  learn  two  whole  pages." 

"  Well,  my  dear  boy,"  I  said,  "  I  will 
tell  you  a  secret.  When  I  was  a  little 
girl,  I  had  to  learn  Catechism  too ;  and, 
like  you,  I  did  not  understand  it  at  all ; 
but  I  had  to  learn  it  perfectly  ;  and  now 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  49 

that  I  have  grown  up,  I  do  understand  it. 
So  you  must  have  courage,  and  learn  the 
words,  and  try  to  comprehend  all  you  can, 
and  when  you  are  older,  you  will  remem- 
ber it,  and  it  will  be  a  great  comfort 
to  you." 

Then  I  explained  some  of  the  hard 
words,  such  as  "  justification  "  and  "  sanc- 
tification,"  and  left  him  looking  happier. 

But  I  took  very  good  care  to  make 
a  good  use  of  the  "  advice "  part  of  my 
duty.  I  told  the  teacher  that  the  lesson 
was  a  great  deal  too  long ;  that  two  ques- 
tions were  quite  enough  to  learn  at  a 
time.  She  did  not  like  it  much,  but  when 
I  put  my  foot  down,  the  thing  has  to  be 
done ;  and  I  found,  on  my  next  visit,  that 
short  lessons  were  the  order  of  the  day. 

You  would  have  been  amused  if  you 

could  have  seen  the  children  whisper  and 

laugh  at  each  other,  because  I  went  down 

with  them  to  dinner  one  day ;  they  had 
vi.— 3 


50  THE   OEPHAN's   HOME  MITTENS. 

meat  and  potatoes  cut  up  in  small  tin 
pans,  and  when  they  had  all  marched  in, 
and  folded  their  little  hands,  and  asked  a 
blessing,  I  went  up  to  one,  and  said, 
"  Please  let  me  taste  your  dinner  ? "  She 
gave  me  the  spoon,  and  I  took  a  bit  of 
meat. 

"  Why,  that  is  capital ! "  I  exclaimed  ; 
"  I  think  I  must  have  some  more !  "  and 
I  asked  another  girl  for  a  taste. 

So  the  children  eat  their  dinner,  think- 
ing it  better  than  usual,  since  "  Aunt 
Fanny,"  as  I  told  them  to  call  me,  liked 
it.  If  I  had  been  willing,  they  would  all 
have  given  me  so  much  dinner  that  I 
should  not  have  known  where  to  put  it ; 
for  you  must  know  they  had  plenty  and 
to  spare. 

One  da$  the  teacher  said  to  me : 
"  There  are  ten  boys,  madam,  who  behave 
so  badly,  I  do  not  know  what  to  do  with 
them.    They  answer  me  impudently ;  they 


TIIE    OKPHAN's    IIOME   MITTENS.  51 

will  not  learn  any  lessons ;  and  one  of  them 
struck  me  this  very  morning." 

"  Oh  dear,  dear  !  how  very  sorry  I  am 
to  hear  this,"  I  answered ;  "  will  you  give 
me  their  names  \ n 

She  took  a  pencil  out  of  her  pocket, 
and  wrote  on  a  bit  of  paper  these  names ; 
and  headed  them  with  these  dreadful  words : 
"  All  intolerably  insolent."  * 

David  C e,        Theodore  S a, 

Joseph  S d,       Edward  K d, 

George  E s,       George  B h, 

Joseph  H 1,       Jacob  J s, 

James  P y,        Benny  L e. 

"  Oh  dear  !  "  I  repeated,  quite  miser- 
able to  hear  such  a  bad  account,  for  some  of 
these  boys  I  had  believed  to  be  excellent 
children.    "  I  will  come  in  the  school  room, 

Miss  H ,  as  soon  as  you  are  settled, 

and  speak  to  them." 

*  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  believe  this,  as  I  think  you  will  find 
it  something  of  a  mistake. 


52       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

Nearly  all  the  managers  were  sewing 
in  one  of  the  parlors ;  I  went  in  and  said, 
"  I  am  going  to  frighten  ten  bad  boys  out 
of  their  wits." 

The  ladies  all  burst  out  laughing. 
"The  idea  of  your  frightening  a  child," 
they  said.  "  Won't  you  let  us  come  in 
and  see  the  fun  i " 

"  You  had  better  take  your  pocket 
handkerchiefs  out  if  you  do,  for  you  will 
be  more  likely  to  cry  than  laugh ;  but 
I  won't  let  you  come  at  all.  It  is  too 
serious  a  matter." 

They  laughed  at  me  again,  and  pre- 
tended to  believe  that  I  meant  to  give  the 
children  a  stick  of  candy  apiece;  but  I 
walked  into  the  great  school  room,  looking 
very  serious,  and  I  felt  very  serious  too, 
when  I  saw  one  of  the  boys  standing  in 
the  coiner  for  punishment.     Going  up  to 

the  teacher's  desk,  I  said,  "  Miss  H , 

don't  you  think  it  would  be  a  good  plan 


I  saw  one  of  the  Boys  standing  in  the  corner  foi 
punishment." 


THE    ORPHANS    HOME    MITTENS.  53 

to  take  all  the  good  children  to  Central 
Park  some  day  ? " 

"  Yes,  madam ;  but  I  am  afraid  there 
will  not  be  many  to  go." 

I  looked  out  of  the  corner  of  my  eye, 
and  saw  that  the  poor  little  orphans 
were  gazing  eagerly  at  me ;  and  rapping 
on  the  desk,  so  as  to  command  perfect 
silence,  I  began,  in  a  very  grave  tone,  this 
speech : 

"My  dear  children,  there  is  one 
thing  I  want  you  to  believe,  before  I  say 
another  word,  and  that  is,  that  /  love 
you? 

I  stopped  and  looked  round.  Oh, 
what  glances  of  affection  came  from  those 
orphans'  eyes  !  and  one  little  bit  of  a  boy, 
who  had  been  made  to  sit  on  the  floor 
close  by  the  teacher's  desk,  because  the 
boy  next  him  had  tickled  him  and  made 
him  laugh  out  loud  at  prayers — this  little 
fellow  put  up  his  hand  and  smoothed  my 


54       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

dress.      I  took  his   little  fat  fingers  in 
mine,  and  went  on : 

"  Yes,  I  love  you  dearly.  I  don't  ex- 
pect you  to  be  perfect  children,  because 
no  one  is  always  good ;  but  I  want  you 
to  think,  how  kind  your  Father  in  Heaven 
has  been  to  you,  to  place  you  here ;  in- 
stead of  allowing  you  to  wander  about 
the  streets,  learning  to  lie  and  steal,  and 
use  wicked  words.  The  least  you  can  do, 
is  to  try — mind,  I  say  '  try ' — to  be  good 
and  obedient.  You  all  know  that  many 
of  the  greatest  men  in  this  country  were 
poor  boys,  with  not  half  the  advantages 
you  have  here.  There  is  nothing  to  pre- 
vent any  one  of  you  boys  from  some  day 
becoming  the  President  of  the  United 
States;  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  you 
all  becoming  what  is  far  higher — that 
is,  Christian  gentlemen.  But  for  the  pres- 
ent, what  do  you  think,  both  boys  and 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  55 

girls,  about  behaving  so  well  as  to  deserve 
an  excursion  to  Central  Park  ?  " 

A  tremendous  cheer  followed  this 
question,  and  then  I  went  on :  "  Well,  if 
you  are  good  for  two  weeks,  you  shall  go. 
In  the  mean  time,  I  wish  to  see  ten  of 
you  boys  (I  won't  tell  their  names  before 
the  rest)  next  Friday  in  the  little  recita- 
tion room.  I  shall  have  something  par- 
ticular to  say  to  them,  and  I  do  hope  they 
will  be  such  very  good  boys  from  this  time 
to  then,  that  what  I  shall  say  will  be  very 
pleasant ;  and  now  three  cheers  for  Cen- 
tral Park." 

The  children  made  a  tremendous  noise ; 
for  that  was  what  they  liked  to  do  :  and 
I  went  out  laughing  and  nodding  at  them. 

Then  I  got  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  wrote 
in  great  letters,  quite  an  inch  long,  "  Cen- 
tral Park  for  Good  Children ; "  and  carry- 
ing it  into  the  school  room,  I  pasted  it  in 
a  conspicuous  place,  so  that  all  disposed 


56       the  oephan's  home  mittens. 

to  be  naughty  might  be  constantly  remind- 
ed of  this  delightful  reward  for  good  con- 
duct ;  and  then  I  said,  "  Good-by,  girls  and 
boys  ;  "  and  they  shouted  back,  "  Good-by, 
Aunt  Fanny,"  and  I  left  them. 

The  next  Friday,  I  went  again  to  the 
Orphan's  Home  ;  I  had  prayed  for  my  ten 
naughty  boys  every  night,  and  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  be  very  gentle  and  kind  to 
them.  I  took  a  copy  of  the  "  Independ- 
ent Newspaper "  with  me,  in  which  was 
an  excellent  story ;  the  very  thing  to  read 
to  them.  It  was  called  "  New- Year's  Reso- 
lutions," and  was  signed  "I  G.  O."  I 
wish  I  knew  the  author,  so  that  I  could 
thank  her  for  writing  it.* 

Well,  the  ladies  laughed  at  me  again, 
and  begged  to  peep  in  at  the  door  to  see 

*  I  obtained  permission  of  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "  Inde- 
pendent,"  to  insert  this  admirable  story.  "Without  that  permis- 
sion, it  would  have  been  omitted.  It  was  written  by  Miss 
Isabella  Graham  Oakley,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  I  thank  her 
heartily. 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  57 

me  frighten  my  naughty  boys;  but  I 
would  not  let  them.  I  went  into  the 
pleasant  little  recitation  room,  and  found 
them  all  there. 

They  did  not  look  the  least  alarmed, 
but  quite  pleased ;  so  I  said,  "  Old  fellows, 
come  and  shake  hands  with  me  ;  then  you 
will  feel  that  I  am  a  friend,  and  I  am  sure 
you  will  attend  to  what  I  say." 

"Yes,  indeed  we  will,"  they  all  ex- 
claimed ;  and  they  very  nearly  squeezed 
my  hand  off. 

"  Now,"  said  I,  "  let  me  hear  what  you 
have  to  complain  of,  and  what  has  tempted 
you  to  be  so  disobedient  and  disrespectful 
to  your  teacher." 

Thereupon  they  all  commenced  talking 

at  once,  and  made  themselves  out  to  be 

the  most  abused  boys  in  the  world.    "  Such 

long  lessons !     Couldn't  go  out  and  play 

in  the  wet  snow !  were  sent  to  bed  for 

nothing  at  all ! "  <fcc.,  &c. 
vi.— 3* 


58       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

All  the  time  they  were  talking  they 
were  playing  off  monkey  tricks  upon  each 
other.  One  boy  would  call  another  sud- 
denly, with  his  sharp  finger-nail  close  to 
his  cheek.  Of  course,  when  the  other 
turned,  his  cheek  would  come  bump  against 
the  finger.  Another  boy,  who  had  his 
hair  cut  very  short,  was  favored  with  ex- 
periments on  it  by  the  others :  each  one 
trying  to  see  how  much  he  could  pinch  up 
in  a  thumb  and  finger  ;  and  once,  when  I 
got  up  to  open  the  window  a  little,  a  boy 
on  the  end  of  the  long  bench  tipped  it, 
and  upset  all  the  rest  on  the  floor.   . 

I  could  not  help  laughing ;  but  at  last 
I  said,  "  Now,  boys,  it's  my  turn  to  speak, 
so  be  quiet."  Then  I  told  them  of  poor 
children  wandering  in  the  streets  that 
very  day,  without  shoes  or  stockings, 
dirty,  starving,  taught  to  lie  and  steal, 
and  sure,  if  they  grew  up,  to  do  worse 
and  worse,  till  they  ended  their  days  in 


THE   OKPHAtf's   HOME   MITTENS.  59 

prison,  or  were  perhaps  hung  for  murder. 
"  My  dear  boys,"  I  continued,  "  use  your 
reason,  and  see  how  much  better  you  are 
off.  You  are  clothed,  fed,  and  above  all, 
taught  how  to  lead  pure  lives.  You  know 
all  about  your  Saviour,  who  died  for  you 
and  me.  We  take  care  of  you,  because 
we  love  you.  I  love  you  all  dearly,  and 
you  don't  know  what  a  happy  and  proud 
woman  I  shall  be  if  I  live  a  few  years 
longer,  and  hear  of  you  boys  as  good,  per- 
haps great  men.  There  is  nothing  to  pre- 
vent it.  I  am  sure  you  would  rather  be 
good  than  bad.  I  am  quite  certain,  when 
you  have  been  bad,  that  your  conscience 
makes  you  miserable.     Is  it  not  so  ? " 

The  tears  were  trembling  in  some  of 
the  boys'  eyes  ;  and  one  or  two  answered 
in  a  loud  voice,  "  Yes,  ma'am." 

"  Well,  I  will  read  you  this  beautiful 
story.  It  will  instruct  you  in  your  duty 
much  better  than  I  can." 


60  THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS. 

They  all  brightened  up  wonderfully  at 
the  prospect  of  a  story,  and  listened  to  it 
in  breathless  attention.     Here  it  is. 


NEW-YEAR'S  RESOLUTIONS. 

It  was  New  Year's  evening,  and  the 
parlors,  not  yet  lighted,  were  warm  and 
quiet,  when  Joel  Goodwill  walked  listlessly 
in  and  sat  down  in  an  easy  chair  before 
the  grate. 

"  Now  is  a  first-rate  chance  to  think 
what  I  will  do  this  year,"  said  he  to  him- 
self. He  thought  he  was  alone ;  but  he 
had  been  there  only  a  few  minutes  when 
some  one  spoke  to  him  from  the  back  par- 
lor.    It  was  his  father. 

"  Why,  father,  you  there  ? "  said  Joel. 
"  I  thought  there  was  no  one  here." 

"  Come  here,  my  son,"  said  his  father. 
Joel  obeyed,  and  found  his  father  sitting 


THE    OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS.  61 

before  the  fire  in  the  other  room ;  he  sat 
down  on  his  knee. 

"  I  have  just  been  reviewing  my  past 
year,  and  laying  some  plans  for  this  New 
Year ;  have  you  had  any  such  thoughts, 
Joel  ? "  asked  his  father. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Joel,  soberly. 

u  You  have  been  making  good  resolu- 
tions then  for  the  future,  I  suppose  \ " 

u  Yes,  sir ;  I'm  going  to  turn  over  a 
new  leaf,  and  do  first-rate  in  school  this 
year,  and  home  too." 

"  Have  you  looked  over  your  past  year 
pretty  closely  ? " 

u  Not  so  very  much." 

a  Have  you  come  up  to  the  purpose  of 
the  good  resolutions  you  made  last  New 
Year's  ? " 

"  No,  sir,  I  expect  not ;  I  can't  remember 
very  well  all  I've  done,  or  what  they  were." 

u  Seems  to  me  you  drew  up  a  copy  of 
resolves  then,  didn't  you  ? " 


62  THE   OEPHAn's   HOME   MITTENS. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Suppose  you  go  and  get  them,  and 
and  let  us  look  them  over." 

Joel  said  he  didn't  believe  he  could 
find  them  ;  he  hadnt  seen  them  for  ever 
so  long.  However,  he  went  up  to  his  lit- 
tle room,  and  fortunately  alighted  upon 
them  quite  readily,  in  a  little  drawer 
where  he  kept  his  certificates  of  merit, 
and  some  other  choice  things. 

On  his  way  down  stairs  he  tried  to  re- 
member what  there  was  written  on  the 
paper ;  but  he  could  not  recall  a  line.  He 
only  recollected  that  he  was  sitting  at  his 
father's  secretary  drawing  up  his  "  reso- 
lutions," last  New  Year's  day,  when  he 
came  suddenly  behind  him  with  a  beau- 
tiful new  leather  satchel  for  him,  and  that 
he  took  up  the  paper  and  talked  a  little 
about  it.  When  he  reached  the  parlor  he 
handed  the  paper  to  his  father,  remarking, 
"  We  can't  see  to  read  by  the  fire." 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  63 

"  I  think  we  shall  make  it  out,"  replied 
he,  turning  it  up  so  that  all  the  fire-light 
mi^ht  reflect  from  it.  It  was  written  in  a 
large,  clear  hand,  Joel's  handsomest,  and 
was  quite  legible  there. 

"  Let  us  see  now  what  you  meant  to  do 
last  New  Year." 

Joel,  with  some  secret  misgivings  about 
the  proceeding,  took  his  seat  again  on 
his  father's  knee,  who  commenced : 

"  January  1, 1861. — Resolutions  for  my 
conduct  during  the  coming  year  :  c  First — 
I  shall  read  in  the  Bible  and  pray  faith- 
fully every  day.  Dr.  S.  told  the  children 
last  Sunday  that  any  child  who  persevered 
in  this  for  one  year  would  certainly  become 
a  Christian,  and  I  am  resolved  to  become 
a  Christian.' " 

Here  his  father  paused.  Joel  was  look- 
ing very  gravely  into  the  fire. 

u  Well,  Joel,  has  that  resolution  been 
kept?" 


64       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

"  No,  sir,  not  long." 

"  How  long  was  it  kept  ? " 

"  I  don't  know.  I  kept  it  pretty  good 
for  a  while,  I  know ;  maybe  till  I  went 
away  to  uncle's  in  March." 

u  What  caused  you  to  give  it  up  ? " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir.  I  expect  because 
Ben  and  Charley  and  the  rest  didn't  care 
anything  for  their  Bibles ;  so  I  gave  up 
reading." 

"  Then  you  have  not  proved  what  Dr. 
S.  said,  have  you  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  And  you  are  no  nearer  being  a  Chris- 
tian than  you  were  last  New  Year's  ? " 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  Joel,  feeling  uncom- 
fortable and  mortified  by  these  searching 
questions.     His  father  proceeded : 

M  4  Second  :  I  am  resolved  to  remember 
the  Golden  Rule  in  all  my  conduct  toward 
my  brothers  and  sisters.'  "Well,  how  has 
that  fared  ? " 


THE   ORPHANS   HOME   MITTENS.  65 

"  I've  kept  that,  part  of  the  time,  I'm 
sure  ;  not  always,  I  suppose." 

"Then  you  don't  remember  having 
broken  it  ? " 

«  No — yes,  sir ;  I  broke  it  to-day  when 

I  teased  Ellie." 

"  Is  that  the  only  time  you  remember  % " 

"  I  broke  it  last  Saturday  when  I  went 
off  with  Harry's  sled." 

"  And  yesterday  when  you  ran  off  and 
left  Benny  crying  alone  on  the  sidewalk, 
and  Christmas  day  when  you  chose  the 
best  book,  and — " 

"  Pray,  don't  go  on,  father,  don't  tell 
me  any  more,"  interrupted  poor  Joel,  red- 
dening more  and  more  as  his  father  re- 
called the  things  he  had  quite  forgotten. 
"  I  know  I  can't  keep  that  rule ;  I  don't 
believe  any  boy  keeps  it." 

"  You  know  that  you  have  not  kept  it ; 
not  that  you  can  not  keep  it.  Well,  let  us 
go  on :  4  Third,  I  am  resolved  to  tell  the 


66  THE   OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

whole  and  exact  truth  always.'  How 
about  this  ? n 

Joel's  conscience  and  memory,  now 
pretty  wide  awake,  began  to  murmur  ac- 
cusations on  this  point  too.  He  had  al- 
ways scorned  to  tell  an  open,  deliberate 
lie,  and  he  knew  he  could  say  Yes  to  a 
question  on  that  point.  But  he  felt  that 
"  the  whole  and  exact  truth  "  was  a  little 
different,  and  he  feared  his  father's  mem- 
ory would  be  better  than  his,  so  he  stam- 
mered out,  "  I  haven't  told  a  lie  this  year 
past ;  you  know  I  couldn't,  father." 

"  But  that  is  not  all  your  resolution 
demands.  Don't  you  ever  go  beyond  the 
truth  or  stop  short  of  it,  in  school  or  in 
play?" 

u  I'm  afraid  I  do,  sir,"  faltered  Joel, 
deeply  humbled  to  be  called  upon  for  this 
confession. 

"  Do  you  sometimes  hide  what  you 
ought  to  confess,  or  tell  a  story  so  as  to 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  67 

conceal  your  share  of  the  blame  and  throw 
it  on  some  one  else  ?  Can  you  remember 
any  such  cases  ? 

u  Yes,  sir,  I  think  of  some  things,"  said 
he,  knowing  well  that  his  father  was  think- 
ing of  particular  cases,  fresh  also  to  his  own 
memory.  Conscience  and  memory  were 
becoming  most  uncomfortable  monitors. 

Here  Mr.  Goodwill  stirred  the  fire  till 
its  bright  blaze  fell  on  all  objects,  bringing 
them  clearly  out  of  the  twilight,  and  then 
went  on,  though  Joel  said  he  thought  they 
had  better  not  read  any  more.  "  Fourth, 
I  am  resolved  not  to  be  absent  from  school 
or  late  once  this  year,  if  I  am  well." 

"  I  went  to  Uncle  Joe's  in  the  spring, 
you  know,  so  of  course  I  couldn't  keep 
that." 

"  You  went  from  choice,  though." 

u  Yes,  sir ;  but  I  did  keep  it  up  a  month, 
I  know." 

His  father  then  went  more  rapidly  over 


68       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

the  Remaining  resolutions,  simply  desiring 
him  when  he  came  to  one  he  was  sure  of 
having  kept,  to  speak.  These  were  of  va- 
rious degrees  of  importance ;  resolves  to 
be  first  in  his  Latin  class,  to  obtain  a  cer- 
tain prize  at  school,  to  drink  no  tea  and 
coffee,  to  give  up  by-words,  &c.  To  no 
one  of  all  these  could  Joel  say  Aye,  ex- 
cepting to  the  coffee  and  tea  resolution. 
That,  with  help  from  his  mother,  he  had 
carried  out. 

The  reason  why  this  exposure  was  par- 
ticularly mortifying,  was  because  Joel  was 
quite  proud  of  being  considered  a  pretty 
good  boy.  He  had  seldom  been  so  much 
humbled  before.  After  a  little  pause  his 
father  said,  kindly,  seeing  the  boy's  troub- 
led face,  "  You  thought  you  should  do  all 
these  things  when  you  wrote  this,  did  you 
not  I " 

"  Yes,  sir.     I  felt  sure  of  it." 

"  What  is  the  reason  you  failed  ? " 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  69 

"  I  don't  know.   I  didn't  try,  I  suppose." 

"  Yes,  you  did  try,  for  you  kept  your 
promises  partially." 

u  I  tried  awhile,  but  I  didn't  stick 
to  it." 

"  Very  true.  Do  you  remember  some- 
thing Solomon  says  about  searching  for 
wisdom  ? " 

"  I  don't  remember." 

"  He  says,  he  that  would  have  wisdom 
must  search  for  her  as  for  silver,  and  seek 
her  as  a  man  seeks  hid  treasure.  You 
seek  wisdom  when  you  set  before  you  such 
resolutions  as  these.  Now  if  a  man  be- 
lieves there  is  gold  in  a  certain  place,  he 
keeps  digging  and  digging  for  weeks,  till 
he  strikes  the  vein.  If  he  were  sure  it  was 
there,  I  presume  he  would  labor  for  it  for 
years.  But  what  if,  when  he  comes  to  a 
rock,  he  should  throw  down  his  pick  and 
desert  the  field  ?  Has  he  gained  any- 
thing ? " 


70  THE   OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

"  No,  sir." 

"  But  has  lost  all  his  time  and  labor, 
and  is  further  from  fortune  than  ever,  by 
the  force  of  shiftless,  unsteady  habits. 
Now  this  is  a  case  similar  to  yours.  You 
are  further  from  being  generous  and  true 
and  persevering,  in  short  from  possessing 
Christian  character,  than  you  were  this 
time  a  year  ago.  By  your  carelessness 
and  idleness,  you  came  out  of  your  field 
without  a  grain  of  gold.  Besides,  by 
making  resolves  and  breaking  them  con- 
tinually, you  are  losing  all  moral  power 
and  all  confidence  in  yourself.  It  were 
better  to  make  no  promises  than  to  be 
guilty  of  breaking  so  many." 

Joel's  convictions  were  fast  overcoming 
his  feelings,  and  the  tears  where  starting 
when  he  asked,  "  What  shall  I  do,  then, 
if  I  mustn't  make  any  more  resolutions, 
father  ? " 

"  I  do  not  say  you  must  not  make  any 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  Yl 

more  resolutions ;  but  before  you  make 
them,  count  the  cost  of  keeping  them. 
You  must  not  break  any  more  resolutions. 
One  great  secret  of  failure  is,  that  you 
get  discouraged  because  you  are  not  per- 
fect. Now,  if  you  fail  one  day,  you  should 
not  give  up,  but  make  haste  to  reach  your 
old  ground  to-morrow.  In  regard  to  these 
resolutions,  probably  you  were  not  suffi- 
ciently in  earnest  in  the  first  place ;  but  in 
the  next  place,  you  were  not  wise,  when 
you  first  failed  a  little,  to  give  up  all  be- 
cause you  could  not  do  all.  Do  you 
understand  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  do  you  think  it  is  worth 
while  for  me  to  try  this  year  ?  I  do  want 
to  do  right !  " 

"  Certainly  I  do.  By  your  failure  you 
have  learned  a  lesson  which  will  keep  you 
both  careful  and  humble  in  future.  I  will 
help  you  by  warning,  and  God  will  help 
you ;    but  you  must  rely  chiefly  on  your 


72       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

own  strong  determination.  l  The  king- 
dom of  heaven'  (that  is,  the  attainment  of 
righteousness,  such  as  you  set  before  you 
in  your  New  Year's  resolutions)  f  suffereth 
violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by 
force.' " 

Joel  has  commenced  anew  to  follow 
one  or  two  all-important  resolutions  ;  how 
he  will  succeed,  the  year,  as  its  daily  pages 
are  written,  will  keep  record.  Let  all 
children  who  have  shared  his  failure,  and 
they  are  not  a  few,  start  afresh  with  him 
to  share  his  victory,  making  his  first  reso- 
lution, to  "  holdfast  that  which  is  good." 

I.  G.  O. 

"Ah!  what  a  good  story  this  is," 
said  I,  as  I  finished  reading,  "  I  wish  you 
would  all  try  to  keep  some  of  these  reso- 
lutions." 

"  So  we  will,"  they  cried. 

"  I  don't  think  you  will  be  successful 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  13 

at  first.  I  know  that  I  should  break 
them  many  times ;  but  if  you  ask  God  to 
help  you,  you  may  in  time  be  able  to 
overcome  the  continual  temptation  to 
break  them." 

Then  we  had  a  long  friendly  talk  to- 
gether; and  I  saw,  here  and  there,  a 
beautiful  trait,  or  noble  impulse,  in  these 
poor  orphan  boys.  They  were  rude  to 
each  other,  but  they  were  not  mean ;  and 
I  felt  sure  that,  rightly  trained,  they  would 
become,  in  time,  good  boys  and  good  men. 

"  Suppose,  my  dear  boys,"  I  said,  "  I  get 
pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  write  out  these 
resolutions,  for  each  of  you  to  keep  a  copy 
in  your  pockets  ;  they  will  help  to  remind 
you.  I  will  only  ask  you  to  try  to  keep 
them.     Will  you  promise  me  this  much  ?  " 

They  all  said  they  would  try  as  hard 
as  they  could. 

"  Will  you  promise  me  to  pray  to  God 

to  help  you  \ " 
vi. — 4 


T4  THE   OKPHAn's    HOME   MITTENS. 

They  promised  this  with  downcast 
eyes  and  serious  faces. 

Then  I  said :  "  Well,  let  us  see  how 
you  can  mind  me  to  begin.  I  am  going 
into  the  committee  room  for  the  pen,  ink, 
and  paper.  I  expect  you  to  sit  quite  still, 
till  I  come  back;  will  you  promise  me 
this  % " 

"  Oh  yes,  ma'am  ;  we  won't  speak  or 
stir  from  our  seats,"  they  all  cried. 

" I  believe  you"  I  said.  I  wish  you 
could  have  seen  their  eyes  sparkle  when 
I  said  that!  They  were  so  glad  that  I 
put  trust  in  them. 

I  went  to  the  committee  room,  and  there 
the  first  directress  began  to  talk  to  me ;  and 
I  staid  much  longer  than  I  at  first  intended. 
When  I  went  back  with  my  writing  ma- 
terials, I  listened  an  instant  at  the  door. 
It  was  perfectly  still. 

"  We  have  not  moved  or  spoken,"  said 
all  the  boys  at  once. 


THE   OKPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  T5 

"  /  believe  you"  I  answered.  "  You  are 
first  rate  fellows !  not  so  bad,  after  all.  I 
think  there  must  have  been  some  mis- 
take about  that  bad  conduct.  You  can 
behave  so  well  when  you  try.  I  hope  it 
is  a  mistake  that  will  never  happen  again. 
I  came  in  this  room  feeling  very  unhappy 
about  you  ;  but  now  I  am  very  much  en- 
couraged.  What  do  you  think  about  being 
called  the  ten  best  boys  in  the  school  ?  " 

They  chuckled  and  grinned  at  this; 
and  one  boy  gave  another  a  sly  poke,  and 
said,  "  Here's  the  best  boy !  he  hasn't 
known  a  single  lesson  these  six  weeks ; " 
and  another  said, "  No !  this  is  the  best  boy  ; 
he  broke  three  panes  of  glass  last  night 
in  one  of  the  play-room  windows ; "  and 
another,  "  Oh,  no ;  this  is  the  best  boy, 
because  he's  got  such  a  big  wart  on  his 
nose." 

I  let  them  talk,  while  I  wrote  on  ten 
half  pages  of  note  paper  these  resolutions  : 


76         THE  OPwPHAN's  home  mittens. 

"  1st.  I  will  read  the  Bible,  and  pray, 
night  and  morning 

"2d.  I  will  try  to  keep  the/Golden 
Rule. 

"  3d.  I  will  always  tell  the  exact  truth." 

"  There,"  said  I,  "  that  will  do."  So 
I  gave  one  paper  to  each,  with  a  few  ear- 
nest words ;  and  shook  hands  with  them 
again,  as  they  promised  me  to  try  to  keep 
them ;  and  then  they  went  softly  back 
into  the  great  school-room. 

I  looked  in  a  few  moments  after,  and 
saw  that  they  were  quietly  studying. 

The  next  Friday,  I  had  my  ten  naughty 
boys  in  the  little  room  again. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  how  did  you  keep  the 
resolutions  \ " 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  Jacob,  "  I've  broken  the 
Golden  Eule." 

"  Why,  how  I "  I  asked. 

"  Why,  ma'am,  David  had  a  ball,  and  he 
lent  it  to  me,  and  when  he  wanted  it  again, 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.  77 

I  would  not  give  it  to  him,  but  threw  it 
as  far  as  I  could  out  of  the  window." 

"  Oh,  Jacob  !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  how  well 
you  understood  what  the  rule  is !  Tell 
me  ;  what  ought  you  to  have  done  \ " 

"  I  ought  to  have  given  David  his 
ball  when  he  asked  for  it." 

"  "Why  ? " 

"  Because,  ma'am,  I  would  have  liked 
him  to  do  so  to  me." 

"  Ah,  yes ;  that  is  it.  You  under- 
stand, and  you  have  sinned  wilfully.  I 
am  very  sorry,  dear  Jacob ;  but  it  is  never 
too  late  to  mend ;  and  I  am  glad  you  have 
had  the  honesty  to  confess  what  you  have 
done ;  that  is  a  noble  trait  in  you  Jacob, 
and  I  want  you  to  come  and  kiss  me." 

The  boy  burst  out  crying  at  this  ;  and 
as  he  kissed  my  cheek  with  his  trembling 
lips,  I  said  to  myself,  "  Tills  a  bad  boy  ? 
No,  he  is  a  splendid  boy  ! " 

Don't  you  see  that  my  making  him 


78  THE   OKPHAn's   HOME   MITTENS. 

feel  that  I  loved  him,  was  the  way  to  his 
heart  ?  I  think  if  ladies  would  be  just  as 
tender  to  poor  children  as  they  are  to  their 
own,  it  would  have  a  wonderful  effect. 
Only  make  a  child  feel  that  you  love  him, 
that  he  is  more  than  a  poor  little  beggar 
dependent  upon  your  charity,  and  he  will 
try  to  deserve  all  your  kindness. 

All  the  boys  had  to  confess  they  had 
broken  their  resolutions;  and  to  all  I 
talked  kindly ;  but  one  of  them  whispered 
to  another :  "  She  did  not  give  us  any 
kiss."  Fortunately  I  heard  this,  and  I 
said,  "  Boys,  I  am  going  to  give  you 
another  chance.  I  shall  bring  a  beautiful 
little  book  next  time,  and  the  boy  who 
has  behaved  the  best,  shall  have  the  book. 
I  shall  not  ask  the  teacher.  I  shall  de- 
pend entirely  on  your  own  accounts  of 
yourselves,  for  I  intend  to  trust  you,  and 
believe  what  you  say.  To  make  myself 
certain  that  you  would  scorn  to  deceive 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME    MITTENS.  79 

me,  and  above  all,  that  you  would  not 
offend  Our  Heavenly  Father  by  a  false- 
hood, I  wish  you  all  to  shake  hands  once 
more,  and  give  me  a  kiss ;  then  I  am  cer- 
tain you  will  mean  to  keep  at  least  the 
third  resolution.     What  is  it  ?  " 

"  I  will  always  tell  the  exact  truth," 
they  shouted. 

So  they  kissed  my  cheek,  and  then  I 
read  to  them  a  story  I  had  written  some 
time  before  for  that  dear  little  magazine, 
"The  Standard  Bearer."  Here  is  the 
story,  and  the  good  minister's  name  is 
Dr.  Prime. 


THE   MINISTER'S   STORY. 

The  other  day  Aunt  Fanny  was  talking 
with  a  good  minister,  and  asked  him  which 
he  thought  were  best  for  children — funny 
stories  or  serious  ones. 

"  Well,"   said  he,  "  suppose   I  relate 


80  THE   OKPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS. 

what  happened  to  me  last  week,  and 
leave  you  to  guess  ? " 

"  Oh  !  that  will  be  delightful ! "  I  an- 
swered. "  I  am  just  as  fond  as  the  chil- 
dren are  of  hearing  stories,  and,  as  they 
say :  '  Please  begin  right  away.' " 

a  Very  well.  Last  week  I  was  in  Ro- 
chester, in  this  State.  There  is  a  very 
large  orphan  asylum  there,  and  I  was  in- 
vited to  visit  it,  and  address  the  boys.  I 
was  very  glad  to  do  so ;  and  when  I  en- 
tered the  chapel,  I  found  several  hundred 
boys  waiting  for  me — some  with  bright, 
honest  faces,  some  looking  full  of  mischief 
and  fun,  and  all  wondering  what  the  min- 
ister was  going  to  say,  and  no  doubt  hoping 
he  was  a  good  kind  of  a  minister,  who  did 
not  think  it  wrong  to  play. 

"  I  fancy  they  must  have  seen  some- 
thing that  pleased  them  in  my  face ;  for 
when  I  said, '  Boys,  which  would  you  rather 
have,  a  story  or  a  sermon  i '  they  all  shouted 


THE    ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  81 

out  merrily, c  A  story !  a  story  ! '  and  some 
added :  '  Let  it  begin,  "  Once  upon  a  time," 
for  that  is  the  best  kind  of  story.' 

u  Very  well,  boys,  you  shall  have  a 
story,  and  it  shall  begin  just  as  you  say. 

uOnce  upon  a  time,  a  little  girl  was 
playing  in  a  garden,  rolling  hoop,  jumping 
rope,  and  talking  to  her  doll.  After  a 
while,  she  ran  to  her  mother,  who  was 
sitting  upon  a  bench  that  was  under  a 
wide-spreading  tree,  and  asked  if  she 
might  have  some  luncheon.  Her  mother 
went  into  the  house,  and  soon  returned 
with  a  small  basket,  and  gave  it  to  the 
little  6ne.  What  was  her  surprise  and 
delight,  when  she  peeped  in,  to  find  a 
light,  delicate  biscuit,  a  nice  cake,  a  beau- 
tiful ripe  peach,  and  a  little  cherry  tart. 

u  Lucy  (for  that  was  her  name)  placed 

all  these  things  on  the  bench,  and  clapping 

her  hands  with  delight,  exclaimed  :  '  Oh  ! 

how  nice  they  all  look !     What  a  fine 
vi. — 4* 


82       the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

party  dolly  and  I  will  have  with  them  ! ' 
Then  she  put  the  biscuit  in  dolly's  white 
kid  hand,  who  smiled  sweetly  all  the  time, 
and  taking  the  cake  in  her  own,  began  to 
eat  it. 

"  Just  then  a  poor  woman  approached 
the  gate.  Holding  fast  to  her  ragged  dress 
was  a  little  boy,  so  wan,  so  thin,  so  starved- 
looking,  that  Lucy  stopped  eating,  and 
gazed  pityingly  at  him. 

" '  Oh  !  what  nice  white  bread  ! '  said 
the  poor  boy. 

"  '  It  is  not  bread — it  is  cake,'  said 
Lucy. 

"  '  Alas  !  little  lady,'  said  the  poor  wo- 
man, •  he  does  not  know  what  cake  is  ;  he 
is  too  glad  to  get  a  crust  of  bread.' 

"  l  Poor  boy ! '  said  Lucy  kindly.  i  How 
strange  not  to  know  what  cake  is  !  Here, 
take  it.' 

"  He  seized  the  cake,  and  in  a  moment 
he  had  eaten  it  up. 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  83 

u  Then  Lucy  took  up  the  cherry  tart, 
and  stretching  out  her  hand,  said,  in  her 
sweet  voice  :  4  Eat  this  too,  poor  boy  ! ' 

"  He  did  not  need  to  be  asked  twice  ; 
and  the  tart  soon  disappeared. 

"  c  Now,  take  this,'  said  Lucy,  handing 
him  the  beautiful  peach. 

"  With  joyful  eagerness  the  boy  swal- 
lowed the  peach,  while  the  generous  child 
looked  on,  her  face  glowing  with  delight ; 
and  then  she  took  the  biscuit  out  of  dolly's 
hand,  and  gave  it  to  the  poor  little  fellow, 
who  finished  it  in  double  quick  time,  and 
dolly  smiled  just  as  sweetly  as  ever,  when 
she  gave  up  her  biscuit,  which  was  very 
good-natured  in  her,  under  the  circum- 
stances. Then  the  poor  woman  poured 
out  thanks  and  blessings  upon  the  head  of 
the  dear  little  girl,  and  upon  her  mother 
who  had  given  the  poor  woman  a  piece 
of  money ;  and  she  and  her  son  went  on 
their  way  with  grateful  hearts,  the  little 


84  THE    OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

boy  looking  back  at  Lucy  as  long  as  he 
could  see  her. 

"  Then  the  mother  took  the  little  girl 
in  her  arms,  and  kissed  her,  and  said :  '  My 
darling  !  you  have  not  had  any  luncheon.' 

" i  Oh,  mamma  ! '  said  Lucy,  her  face 
still  glowing  with  pleasure,  '  /  feel  as  if  I 
had  eaten  it  all  myself? 

"  You  see,  boys,  that  the  noble-hearted 
little  child  was  even  more  happy  in  giving 
than  the  poor  boy  was  in  receiving  ;  and 
I  want  you  every  day  of  your  lives  to  love 
one  another,  and  be  generous  and  kind 
one  to  another — to  do  as  you  would  wish  to 
be  done  by,  for  this  is  what  little  Lucy  did. 

M  God  has  laid  His  hand  of  blessing  on 
your  heads  ;  He  has  placed  you  who  have 
no  earthly  parents  in  this  pleasant  home, 
to  show  you  that  He  is  your  Father  ;  and 
the  only  way  in  which  you  can  prove  your 
gratitude  to  Him  is,  to  (  Love  one  another ; ' 
and  if  you  love  one  another,  you  will  keep 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  85        j 

His  commandments..  Love  your  teachers, 
and  you  will  obey  them.  Love  God,  and 
you  will  keep  His  commandments. 

"  And  now,  which  do  you  think  you 
have  had — a  sermon  or  a  story  ? 

" '  A  story ! '  shouted  some  of  the  boys. 

"  '  A  sermon  ! '  shouted  others. 

" '  Both  ! '  shouted  still  more." 

Dear  little  readers,  which  do  you  think 
it  was — a  story,  a  sermon,  or  both  ? 

I  asked  my  boys  when  I  finished 
whether  they  thought  it  was  a  story  or  a 
sermon,  and  they  shouted  just  like  the 
other  boys;  some,  that  it  was  one,  and 
some  the  other;  but  they  liked  it  very 
much,  and  thanked  me  for  reading  it. 
"  Then  I  said,  I  will  give  this  little  'Stand- 
ard Bearer '  to  any  one  of  you  :  which  one 
shall  it  be?" 

"  Give  it  to  Jacob,"  shouted  nearly  all 
the  boys,  for  they  all  liked  him. 


86       the  okphan's  home  mittens. 

I  handed  it  to  Jacob ;  and  what  do 
you  think  he  did?  He  gave  it  to  the 
smallest  boy,  saying,  u  /think  little  Joseph 
ought  to  have  it." 

That  was  really  noble,  because  he  was 
very  fond  of  reading,  and  I  knew  that  he 
wanted  it ;  but  the  little  fellow  looked  so 
wishful,  that  Jacob  did  as  he  would  wish 
to  be  done  by,  and  the  bright  glow  on  his 
face  showed  how  happy  this  little  sacrifice 
had  made  him. 

And  I ! — wasn't  I  happy  ?  Yes,  indeed ! 
And  I  bade  them  all  good-by,  and  promised 
to  bring  a  "  real  nice  book  "  next  time,  and 
went  back  to  the  room  where  the  ladies 
were  sewing,  with  such  a  joyous  expression 
on  my  face,  that  they  asked  if  my  ten  bad 
boys  had  all  flown  away  to  the  moon  ?  to 
which  I  gravely  answered:  "The  badness 
has  flown  away,  and  left  ten  splendid  boys." 

The  next  Friday  came ;  and,  true  to 
my  promise,  I  carried  a  book  which  con- 


THE   ORPHANS   HOME   MITTENS.  87 

tabled  a  very  interesting  story  of  two 
children  who  lived  in  Gibraltar  with  their 
father,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  English 
army.  It  described  the  battles  the  Eng- 
lish fought  on  sea  and  land  to  obtain  pos- 
session of  that  famous  rock ;  a  trip  the  chil- 
dren took  to  Africa,  which  you  know  is 
just  opposite;  and  was  so  full  of  infor- 
mation about  the  customs  and  manners  of 
the  people  who  lived  there,  that  it  made 
a  delightful  little  history,  told  in  the  form 
of  a  story. 

My  ten  boys  met  me  in  the  little  room 
with  joyful  greetings ;  but  I  am  sorry  to 
say  they  had  to  confess  that  they  had  not 
kept  the  resolutions  any  better  than  be- 
fore. Still,  as  they  showed  plainly  that 
they  wanted  to  be  good,  I  was  puzzled  to 
whom  to  give  the  book,  as  they  all  seemed 
to  have  behaved  equally  naughty  as  well 
as  good. 

"  I    don't    want    to    take    the    book 


88  THE    OEPHAN'S   H03IE   MITTENS. 

home  again,"  I  said ;  "  whom  shall  I  give 
it  to  I " 

"  Give  it  to  me  ! "  "  Give  it  to  me  ! " 
"  No,  to  me  ! "  each  one  shouted. 

I  looked  reproachfully  at  them,  and  said 
quietly,  "  Then  it  seems  you  are  all  selfish." 

At  this  they  began  to  call  out,  "  Give 
it  to  Jacob,"  "  Give  it  to  Theodore,"  &c. 

"  Well,"  I  said,  "  you  have  all  been 
bad  alike,  according  to  your  own  confes- 
sions. I  will  draw  lots  for  you,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  boy  who  gets  the  book  shall 
lend  it  cheerfully  to  the  rest  in  turn  to 
read,  and  the  rest  of  the  boys  must  feel 
willing  and  happy  to  have  the  winner 
keep  it.     Will  you  try  to  do  this  ? " 

They  eagerly  promised.  So  I  cut  ten 
little  squares  of  paper,  while  they  gathered 
round  me  and  looked  on  with  the  greatest 
interest,  and  on  each  bit  of  paper  I  put  a 
boy's  name. 

"  Now,  boys,  you  will  all  have  a  chance. 


THE   OEPHAn's   HOME   MITTENS.  89 

See — I  will  roll  up  each  bit,  and  tumble 
them  all  together  in  this  saucer ;  and  then 
who  shall  take  them  out  one  by  one  ? " 

"  All  of  us,"  they  cried. 

■"No,  that  won't  do.  Let  Joseph,  as 
he  is  the  smallest  boy ;  and  mind,  the  last 
one  wins." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  they  said  ;  and  now  it 
was  funny  to  see  the  intense  importance 
with  which  little  Joseph  put  in  his  thumb 
and  finger  among  the  papers.  He  took 
one,  dropped  it,  and  took  another  and 
handed  it  to  me. 

You  could  have  heard  a  pin  drop  while 
I  unfolded  it ;  and  when  I  read  "  Joseph," 
the  little  fellow's  face  grew  so  long  that  I 
felt  very  sorry,  and  wished  I  had  bought 
ten  books. 

"  Never  mind,  my  little  fellow,  you 
will  read  it,  you  know,"  I  said  ;  "  and  you 
will  be  glad  for  the  boy  who  gets  it — 
won't  you  ? " 


90  THE   ORPHANS   HOME   MITTENS. 

He  brightened  up  in  a  moment,  and 
drew  another  and  another  till  only  two 
were  left. 

The  two  boys  whose  names  had  not 
yet  been  called  were  now  the  objects  of 
the  highest  interest  to  the  rest,  and  they 
were  laughing  a*nd  telling  Joseph  to  stir 
the  bits  of  paper  up  well.  He  drew  again 
— "  James  "  was  the  name — and  the  book 
belonged  to  Theodore,  whose  bright  black 
eyes  danced  with  delight,  for  his  was  the 
name  left  in  the  saucer. 

"  But  I  will  let  you  all  read  it,"  he 
said,  "  even  before  I  do — and  little  Joseph 
first." 

I  was  delighted  to  hear  him  say  this, 
and  still  more  delighted  that  not  a  mean 
expression  or  covetous  look  was  to  be  seen 
in  the  faces  of  my  good  boys.  They  stood 
the  hard  test  nobly,  and  that  day  I  was 
very  happy. 

Soon  after  this  my  daughter  was  taken 


THE   OKPIIAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  91 

very  ill,  as  you  know,  and  I  could  not  go 
for  many  weeks  to  the  Home  :  when  I  did 
go,  I  found  everything  pleasant  and  quiet, 
but  the  boys  were  restless  and  trouble- 
some. So  I  made  a  report  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  month,  stating  that  they 
did  not  have  enough  to  do.  You  see  our 
girls  learn  to  sew,  wash  and  iron,  and  keep 
house.  But  we  were  puzzled  to  find  suit- 
able work  for  our  boys ;  and  I  proposed 
in  my  report  that  they  should  learn  some 
mechanical  trade,  and  recommended  that 
the  managers  should  begin  with  shoe- 
making. 

To  my  great  gratification,  the  ladies  all 
approved  of  this ;  and  I  can  tell  you  I 
soon  hunted  up  a  shoemaker  who  was 
willing:  to  come  and  teach  them  for  a  little 
money,  and  in  a  week  there  was  a  dozen 
boys  provided  with  tools,  leather,  cfec, 
hard  at  work,  and  very  happy  learning  to 
make  and  mend  shoes. 


92  THE   OEPHAN?S    HOME   MITTENS. 

Such  piles  of  shoes  as  wanted  mending, 
so  many  little  toes  had  rubbed  out  holes, 
that  I  had  to  laugh,  for  they  all  looked 
as  if  they  were  laughing  with  then  mouths 
wide  open.  I  told  the  boys,  that  as  soon 
as  they  knew  how  to  make  shoes  well, 
they  must  make  a  pair  of  boots  for  me,  for 
which  I  would  pay  them  just  as  much  as 
I  did  my  shoemaker  in  Broadway.  They 
were  delighted  at  this,  and  ran  then 
tongues  out,  and  sewed  away,  and  prom- 
ised to  try  their  very  best. 

About  this  time  we  got  a  new  teacher,  a 
kind,  grave  man,  whom  the  children  liked 
very  much.  I  wanted  to  see  exactly  how 
he  managed  with  the  children ;  so  one  day  I 
went  into  the  school  room,  and  asked  to 
have  my  boys  read  for  me.  The  teacher 
gave  them  each  a  history  of  the  United 
States,  and  handed  one  to  me.  Every  boy 
read  a  paragraph  in  turn,  and  I  was  sur- 
prised at  their  improvement.   They  minded 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.  93 

their  stops,  and  generally  placed  the  em- 
phasis properly. 

While  they  were  reading,  one  little  bit 
of  a  girl  after  another  crept  up  to  me  and 
leaned  confidingly  against  me  ;  and  before 
the  reading  was  through,  I  had  five  of 
these  motherless  little  ones  nestling  close 
to  my  knees.  You  see  they  did  not  have 
to  sit  very  quiet,  or  learn  much,  because 
they  were  none  of  them  five  years  old ; 
and  if  they  did  not  make  a  noise,  they 
could  move  about  a  little.  I  said  to  one 
of  them,  "  Well,  little  Kate,  did  you  get  a 
doll  last  Christmas  ?  " 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  she  answered ;  "  and  I 
broke  it  all  to  pieces," 

Then  she  gave  a  little  chuckling  laugh, 
and  looked  so  roguish,  that  I  pinched  her 
fat  red  cheeks.  If  you  go  to  the  Orphan's 
Home,  ask  to  see  Kate,  and  Lillie,  and 
Maggie ;  for  they  are  three  nice  little  girls. 
Just  before  my  daughter  got  so  well  that 


94  THE   OEPHAlSf's   HOME   MITTENS. 

I  could  return  to  my  pleasant  work  at  the 

Home,  something  happened  which  filled 

me  with  grief.     Our  kind  first  directress, 

and  my  dear  friend  the  treasurer,  resigned 

their  offices.     They  grieved  about  it  even 

more  than  I  did.     They  had  been  with 

the  orphans  so  long,  and  had  worked  so 

hard  for  these  poor  children. 

But  it  could  not  be  helped.      They 

thought  it  best  for  others  to  take  their 

places,  although  they  would  remain  just 

as  warm  friends  as  ever  to  the  little  ones. 
*  #         #  #  #  # 

And  now  I  believe  I  have  written  all 
that  there  is  to  relate  about  my  children 
in  the  Home,  up  to  this  time.  If  you  feel 
an  interest  in  them,  and  you  and  I  live 
another  year,  at  the  end  of  it  I  will  tell 
you  all  that  happens  during  the  year. 
Would  you  like  it  ? 

That  was  the  end.     The  children  clap- 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.  95 

peel  their  hands  and  said,  "  Oh,  mamma ! 
this  is  the  very  best  story  yet.  Dear 
little  orphans !  how  sorry  we  are  they 
have  no  mothers  and  fathers !  What 
should  we  do  if  you  should  die  ! " 

At  this  distressing  thought,  they 
rushed  to  their  mother,  and  clasped  her 
with  I  don't  know  how  many  arms,  and 
kissed  her  forehead,  and  eyes,  and  nose, 
and  chin,  and  the  back  of  her  head,  till 
from  very  nearly  crying  they  all  got 
laughing  ;  and  two  or  three  tumbled  down 
in  a  heap  together  on  the  carpet.  "  Oh, 
dear,  dear !  "  cried  the  little  mother,  laugh- 
ing and  struggling,  "  you  will  kill  me  if 
you  love  me  so  desperately ;  I  shan't  have 
half  a  nose  or  quarter  of  an  ear  left  be- 
tween you  all.    Shoo  !    Boo  !    Bang  ! " 

They  all  fell  off  laughing,  pretending 
to  be  shot ;  and  soon  after,  with  thanks  to 
Aunt  Fanny  and  then  kind  mother,  the 
children  went  to  bed. 


"THE  BATTLE  OF  KOANOKE 
ISLAND." 

The  reading  of  the  account  of  the 
"  Orphan's  Home,"  had  taken  several 
evenings ;  during  which  the  mittens  had 
greatly  increased.  For  some  time  after 
this,  there  had  been  no  story.  The  little 
mother,  though  she  tried  to  keep  it  to 
herself,  was  in  great  anxiety  about  her 
soldier  son,  who  had  gone  down  with 
General  Burnside's  brigade  to  North  Caro- 
lina. She  had  read  the  general's  address 
to  his  men,  in  which  he  appealed  to  their 
honor  and  humanity,  and  asked  them  to 
treat  the  property  of  the  enemy  with  un- 
failing protection  and  respect ;  and  wound- 
ed soldiers  who  might  fall  into  their  hands, 


THE    ORPHAN'S   HOME    MITTENS.  97 

with  the  utmost  kindness  and  attention ; 
ending  in  his  conviction  that  they  would 
be  as  noble  hearted  as  he  knew  they  were 
brave.  "  Ah,"  she  thought,  "  this  looks  as 
if  a  battle  was  intended." 

Then  the  stirring  news  came  of  the 
capture  of  Roanoke  Island,  with  a  few 
words  about  the  bravery  of  the  men  and 
the  terrible  hardships  they  had  endured, 
fighting  through  dense  swamps  and  al- 
most impenetrable  thickets. 

Oh  !  how  terrible  were  the  next  few  days 
passed  in  woful,  trembling  suspense.  There 
was  no  official  report  as  yet,  of  the  killed 
and  wounded ;  and  the  hours  of  many  a 
household  like  those  of  the  little  mother's, 
were  passed  in  alternate  prayers,  hopes, 
and  fears. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  February, 

Harry   and   Johnny   went   out    together. 

They  felt  so  distressed  about  their  beloved 

brother,  they  could   not   sit  still  in  the 
vi. — 5 


98  THE   OBPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

house.  Near  Union  Park  they  met  Gus 
Averill,  one  of  Harry's  friends,  and  some 
other  lads.  Of  course  the  boys  imme- 
diately began  talking  of  the  battle  of 
Koanoke  Island ;  as  Gus  had  an  elder 
brother  in  the  same  company  with  George. 

"  Oh,  Harry ! "  cried  Gus,  "  have  you  had 
any  news  from  your  brother  ?   Is  he  safe  ?  " 

"  We  don't  know  yet,"  answered  Harry 
sorrowfully.  "  Have  you  heard  from  your 
brother  Walter  ? " 

"  No.  My  mother  is  almost  crazy. 
That  dear  Miss  Wilmer,  to  wThom  he  is 
engaged  to  be  married,  comes  and  tries  to 
comfort  mother ;  but  it  always  ends  in  her 
laying  her  head  on  mother's  breast  and 
crying,  oh  !  so  pitifully  !  and  then  mother 
cries  ;  and  that  breaks  my  heart." 

His  lips  quivered  as  he  spoke,  and  the 
lad  standing  by  him  threw  his  arms  affec- 
tionately over  his  neck,  while  Harry  and 
Johnny  looked  grieved  enough. 


Xrar  Union  Park  they  met  Gus  Averill  and  some  other  Lais. 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.  99 

"  Oh,  if  this  dreadful  war  could  only 
be  ended !  "  cried  a  bright-looking  boy, 
clenching  his  stick,  and  striking  it  on  the 
pavement.  *'  Why  don't  the  President  just 
proclaim  freedom  to  every  soul  at  once ! 
My  father  says  that  would  end  the  trouble 
double  quick ! " 

"If  the  President  thought  so,"  said 
Harry,  "  he  would  soon  say  the  word.  I 
think  he  is  the  very  best  President  we 
ever  had ;  so  honest  and  straight  out. 
He  don't  think  of  himself;  only  of  his 
country,  and  what  is  best  for  her.  He's 
a  dear,  good  old  fellow,  and  if  I  saw  him,  I 
should  just  go  up  to  him  and  say,  c  I  love 
you,  President  Lincoln,  for  you  are  an  hon- 
est man.'  " 

"  And  so  should  I,"  said  Johnny. 
"  Aunt  Fanny  declares  that  anybody  else's 
head  would  have  become  addled  and  ut- 
terly confounded  by  this  time,  with  all 
this  terrible  war  and  confusion ;  but  Mr. 


100        THE    ORPHANS   HOME   MITTENS. 

Lincoln's  hoinesty  of  heart  keeps  his 
head  clear,  and  so  lie  does  his  duty ;  while 
his  enemies  snap  and  snarl ;  but  they 
never  l  catch  a  gudgeon?  D*  you  know 
Aunt  Fanny  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh  yes,"  cried  all  the  boys. 

"  "Well,  her  daughter  wrote  such  a  nice 
piece  about  the  President,  that  I  have 
learned  it.  If  you  like,  I  will  tell  it  to 
you." 

"  That  we  should  !  "  cried  the  boys ;  so 
Johnny  in  a  clear  voice  began  : 

"  Fling  out  the  broad  banner !  make  ready  each  hand ! 
For  the  cry  of  Disunion  is  rife  in  our  land ; 
Each  day  may  behold  a  new  battle  begun, 
And  true  blood  must  flow  ere  the  victory's  won. 
Then  loud  let  the  message  ring  out  to  the  South : 
1  Republicans  have  but  one  heart  and  one  mouth. 
For  the  freedom  we  love,  for  the  land  we  adore, 
For  the  Union,  and  Abraham  Lincoln — hurrah  ! ' 

"  What !  brothers  and  countrymen  !  mean  you  to  part, 
With  a  curse  on  each  lip,  and  revenge  in  each  heart  ? 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.        101 

"What !  fly  from  a  government  simple,  but  grand, 
Your  future  to  build  on  foundations  of  sand  ? 
No  !    Stop,  while  'tis  time,  oh  ye  men  of  the  South, 
Let  us  have  for  our  country  one  heart  and  one  mouth, 
And,  brothers  once  more  in  the  land  we  adore, 
We'll  shout  '  For  The  Union  Forever  !  Hurrah  ! ' 

"Then  let  enemies  thicken ;  we'll  never  despair, 
"Where  unity  is — behold  victory  there  ! 
Disunite — in  the  ruins  of  home  you  will  lie, 
In  Union  you  conquer — without  it,  you  die. 
Oh  then,  let  it  come  from  the  North  and  the  South : 

4  We  have  but  one  country,  one  heart,  and  one  mouth. 
For  the  freedom  we  love,  for  the  land  we  adore, 
For  the  Union,  and  Abraham  Lincoln — Hurrah !' " 

By  the  time  Johnny  had  finished,  a 
dozen  more  lads  and  some  gentlemen  had 
gathered  round  to  listen.  The  little  fel- 
low's color  mounted  high,  "but  he  went  on 
with  admirable  emphasis  and  animation 
to  the  end ;  and  then  let  me  tell  you  that, 
when  he  uttered  the  last  "  Hurrah,"  the 
boys  snatched  their  hats  off,  and  joined  in 


102       THE   OEPHAN'S   HOME   MITTEN'S. 

with  such  a  wiU,  that  the  stunted  old 
trees  in  the  Park  cracked  again  !  and  if  it 
was  not  a  very  immense  mass  meeting,  it 
was  a  highly  respectable  one,  and  per- 
fectly unanimous. 

"  That  was  splendid !  "  said  the  bright 
boy,  who  had  advised  the  President  to  pro- 
claim universal  freedom.  "  I  love  Aunt 
Fanny's  daughter  for  writing  it ;  and  you 
may  tell  her  so.  I  wonder  if  she  wrote 
the  beautiful  little  poem  mother  read  to 
me  the  other  day  from  the  Rebellion 
Record.  It  set  her  crying ;  and  I  had  hard 
work,  I  can  tell  you,  to  keep  my  face  from 
puckering  up." 

"Oh,  can  you  remember  it?"  asked 
some  of  the  boys.     "  Do  try." 

"Yes;  I  learned  it,  only  reading  it 
twice  after  mother  had  read  it  to  me.  I 
don't  know  as  you  will  like  it  as  much  as 
I  did ;  but  I've  got  a  little  brother,  who 
says  just  such  things  the  whole  time." 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.        103 

"Why,  so  have  we,"  cried  Johnny, 
"  lots  of  them  !  so  come  let's  hear  it." 

The  little  fellow  put  his  finger  on  his 
lip,  to  think  for  a  moment,  and  then 
began  in  a  low  voice ;  all  the  boys  crowd- 
ing round  so  as  not  to  lose  a  word. 

"  Willie  stood  at  the  window — 

Little  Willie,  five  years  old — 
Watching  the  rainbow  colors, 

Fading  in  sunset's  gold, 
Red  pennants,  and  streamers  of  fire, 

On  the  blue  expanse  unfurl ; 
And  over  the  red  the  white  clouds  lie, 

Like  floating  mists  of  pearl. 

"  '  Isn't  it  beautiful,  mamma  ? ' 

And  the  dark  eyes  grow  so  bright, 
They  almost  seem  to  catch  the  gold 

Of  the  sky's  wild  glory  light. 
1  See  !    There  is  the  red,  mamma, 
And  there  is  the  beautiful  blue  ; 
Did  God  make  the  blue  and  red  ? 
Did  He  make  the  white  clouds  too  ? 


104       THE    ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS. 

"  '  And  away  up  in  the  sky, 

Oh  !  see  the  little  bright  star  ! 
Why  !    God  is  for  the  Union  t 
Isn't  He,  mamma  ? '  " 

"What  a  dear  little  fellow  lie  was," 
cried  Johnny.  "Yes,  God  is  for  the 
Union.     Why  can't  everybody  see  it  ? " 

"  All  in  good  time — His  good  time," 
said  his  brother ;  "  come,  Johnny,  let's  us 
go  back  to  mother."  And  so  they  sepa- 
rated ;  and  our  boys,  Harry  and  Johnny, 
walked  quickly  home. 

They  had  not  been  in  the  house  ten 
minutes,  when  the  postman's  peculiarly 
loud  and  impatient  ring  was  heard.  The 
little  mother's  heart  stopped  beating  for  a 
moment,  while  the  children,  too  anxious 
to  wait  for  a  servant  to  come,  rushed  in 
a  body  to  open  the  door.  One  united 
scream  of  joy  greeted  the  dear  brother's 
well-known  handwriting. 

"  Safe !  safe  ! "  they  cried,  as  they  ran 


THE    ORPHAN^    HOME   MITTENS.        105 

with  the  precious  letter  to  their  mother, 
who  had  turned  so  ghastly  white  that  she 
seemed  to  be  dying.  It  was  a  thick  en- 
closure. With  trembling,  eager  fingers, 
the  envelope  was  torn  away.  Within 
was  a  long  letter  written  on  several  sheets 
of  paper,  which  were  closely  wrapped 
around  a  miniature  of  a  beautiful  young 
girl ;  a  short,  thick  lock  of  dark  curling 
hair,  and  a  small  card,  on  which  was  a 
tiny  but  most  exquisite  painting. 

It  represented  a  dark  and  stormy  sea ; 
the  angry  waves  beating  furiously  against 
a  great  rock,  which  stood  like  a  tower  of 
strength  in  the  midst  of  the  waters. 

On  the  rock  far  above,  a  cross,  stead- 
fast and  immovable,  was  planted,  from 
which  all  the  light  in  the  picture  came. 

The    inscription    below  was :    "  Our 

faith ; "  and  on  the  back  was  written,  "  For 

dear  Walter's  birthday." 

"  These  must  belong  to  some  one  else," 
vi. — 5* 


106        THE   OEPHAN's    HOME   MITTENS. 

said  the  little  mother  in  a  low,  sobbing 
voice.  Then  looking  again  at  the  minia- 
ture, she  uttered  a  cry  of  grief,  as  she  saw 
that  it  was  a  likeness  of  one  she  knew  and 
loved  dearly.  She  took  up  the  letter,  and 
read,  half  blinded  with  tears — 

"February  11th,  1862. 

"  Dakltng  Mothee,  Fathee,  Beothees, 
and  Sistees: — I  have  had  my  wish.  I 
have  been  in  a  battle  and,  I  hope,  did  my 
duty.  I  have  come  out  unharmed ;  and 
I  thank  God  humbly,  for  his  goodness 
and  mercy. 

"  We  went  through  ■  the  inlet  on  the 
sternwheel  boat  t  Cadet,'  February  fan. 
Soon  General  Burnside  directed  Lieuten- 
ant Andrews  to  take  a  boat's  crew  and 
ten  soldiers,  and  pull  for  the  shore  to  take 
soundings  and  examine  the  landing. 

"  Lieutenant  Andrews,  who  is  a  cool, 
brave  fellow,  went  through  this  enterprise 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.        10*7 

splendidly.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  go 
with  him.  He  took  the  soundings,  went 
ashore,  saw  the  glitter  of  bayonets,  and 
was  convinced  that  the  landing  was  com- 
manded by  the  rebels. 

"  Just  as  he  returned  to  the  boat,  a 
number  of  men  sprang  up  like  lightning 
from  the  tall  grass,  and  fired  at  us.  One 
bullet  took  effect ;  one  poor  fellow  was 
severely  wounded. 

"  Then  our  vessels  bombarded  them. 
A  hurricane  of  shot  and  shell  was  poured 
into  their  battery,  till  they  seemed  to  be 
enveloped  in  one  sheet  of  white  smoke  and 
flame ;  for  we  had  set  their  quarters  on 
fire.  But  with  a  desperation  that  filled 
me  with  a  sorrowful  admiration,  they  still 
worked  at  their  guns. 

"  Then  the  rebel  gunboats  came  down 
upon  our  vessels,  and  the  brazen  throats 
of  our  guns  opened  upon  them  with  such 
deadly  effect,  that  a  boat  of  the  enemy's 


108       THE    OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

was  soon  enveloped  in  flames.  One  of 
those  awful  hundred-pound  shells  from  a 
Parrott  gun  fell  and  exploded  on  her  deck. 

"  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  our 
general  made  a  circuit  of  the  fleet.  A 
shell  from  the  enemy  was  aimed  at  his 
boat,  but  it  exploded,  fell  into  the  water, 
hurting  no  one.  The  fighting  continued 
till  six  o'clock,  when  our  vessels  hauled 
off,  and  all  became  quiet.  No  light  was 
seen  on  shore  but  the  red  glow  of  the 
burning  ruins  of  the  enemy's  quarters. 
They  had  fought  bravely  ;  and  though  in 
the  wrong,  I  could  not  help  feeling  a 
respect  for  their  courage,  while  I  con- 
demned their  cause.  v 

"  The  landing  of  our  brave  fellows  was 
effected  in  a  wonderfully  short  time ;  for 
we  had  no  trouble  from  the  enemy,  as 
the  men  who  fired  on  Lieutenant  Andrews 
and  his  crew,  were  sent  scampering  into 
the  woods  by  a  shell  from  one  of  our 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.        109 

boats,  which  went  howling  like  a  fiend 
through  the  air,  and  fell  down  upon  them. 

"  But  it  began  to  rain,  and  in  a  cold 
driving  storm  we  waded  through  the 
swamp,  the  rank  grass  up  to  our  eyes, 
until  we  came  out  on  a  sandy  plain.  We 
tore  up  a  rail  fence,  and  at  eleven 
o'clock  that  night  our  bivouac  fires  span- 
gled the  earth. 

"  You  may  imagine  how  much  rest  we 
got,  with  nothing  but  our  thin  overcoats 
to  protect  us.  But  our  courage  flamed 
up  bright  in  spite  of  the  weather;  and 
when  the  order  to  form  was  given  next 
morning,  we  rushed  to  our  places  with 
hearty  good- will. 

"  Generals  Foster  and  Burnside  came  up 
and  said  a  few  pleasant  words.  Then  the 
reconnoissance  was  made,  and  we  soon 
heard  firing.  We  were  ordered  to  ad- 
vance. The  men  laughed  and  joked  with 
each  other  as  they  marched,  while  our 


110       THE   OEPHAN'S   HOME  MITTENS. 

great  guns  boomed  and  thundered,  and  the 
fierce,  incessant  shriek  of  rifle  shot  filled 
the  air. 

"  We  went  a  mile,  then  two,  and  now 
the  shot  rattled  among  the  leaves,  and 
men  came  past  carrying  the  brave  Massa- 
chusetts boys,  pierced  by  ball  and  bayonet, 
showing  frightful  bleeding  wounds.  As 
they  were  borne  to  the  rear,  they  would 
pass  us  with  a  smile  on  their  ghastly 
faces ;  or  would  utter  a  faint,  trembling 
cheer,  and  the  words, '  Never  give  up,  boys, 
Victory  or  death ! '  and  then  a  grand  heroic 
fire  would  blaze  up  in  their  eyes. 

a  On  we  marched,  till  we  heard  cheers 
and  screams  of  fury  mingling  with  the 
thundering  of  the  guns.  Thick  smoke, 
through  which  came  flashes  with  a  gleam 
like  tiger's  eyes,  enveloped  us,  and  the 
whistle  of  the  bullets  rushed  close  past 
our  ears. 

"  We  were  under  fire ;  and  now,  dear 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME    MITTENS.        Ill 

mother,  I  breathed  a  prayer  to  God  to 
nerve  my  arm  and  heart.  Not  a  weak 
soul — not  a  coward  was  in  our  ranks.  I 
looked  around,  and  saw  in  every  resolute 
face  a  look  which  plainly  said,  '  Glory,  or 
a  grave.' 

"  Then  our  colonel  gave  the  order  to  fire. 
Directly  in  front  of  us  was  the  famous  re- 
doubt, of  which  we  had  heard  so  much ; 
and  we  could  see  riflemen  in  the  trees, 
under  the  turfed  walls,  and  behind  every 
possible  cover.  But  we  obeyed  the  order 
with  a  will,  and  for  an  hour  we  fought. 
Not  a  soul  flinched.  As  the  balls  struck 
our  men,  and  they  fell,  they  were  carried 
to  the  rear,  and  the  ranks  closed  up  with- 
out wavering.  I  seemed  turned  into  stone ; 
my  heart  hardened.  I  saw  a  ball  strike 
poor  Walter  Averill,  who  fought  at  my 
side.  He  gave  a  low  cry,  and  sank  to  the 
ground.  Two  privates  carried  him  to  an 
ambulance,  and  I  turned  away  with  my 


112        THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS. 

heart  of  granite  harder,  stonier  than  ever. 
It  seemed  impossible  to  feel  sorrow. 
Suddenly  a  wild  cheer  rose  up  above 
the  awful  din.     Our  flag  waved  from  the 

redoubt !    Another  !  another  !    The  battle 

i 

was  won ! 

u  Koanoke  Island  was  ours !  with  all 
the  enemy's  guns,  and  three  thousand  men 
with  their  arms,  ammunition,  and  stores. 
The  victory  was  complete. 

"  There  was  one  young  fellow,  dear 
mother,  who  deserved  to  be  made  a  gen- 
eral. Oh,  mother !  he  was  only  seventeen 
years  old — three  years  younger  than  I. 
He  was  ordered  to  plant  a  battery  of  six 
twelve-pounder  boat  howitzers  from  the 
vessels  in  the  advance  of  the  centre.  He 
dragged  these  through  the  swamp  and 
placed  them  in  position.  They  soon  began 
to  thunder  and  flash  into  the  enemy,  who 
returned  the  fire  with  such  fury  and  des- 
peration that  every  man,  one   after  the 


The  Battle  of  Eoanoke  Island. 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        113 

other,  was  shot  down,  and  he  was  left 
alone.  The  chaplain  of  the  Twenty-fifth 
Massachusetts,  Rev.  Mr.  James,  then  rushed 
up  and  worked  at  one  of  the  howitzers  till 
his  ammunition  gave  out,  and  he  had  to 
retire.  Still  this  undaunted  boy  kept  on 
loading  and  discharging  his  gun,  now  en- 
tirely alone,  and  a  mark  for  the  most  ter- 
rible galling  fire  ;  and  he  did  this  until 
the  enemy  had  surrendered. 

"  What  a  heroic  soul  lives  in  that  brave 
boy's  body !  You  may  be  sure  that  I  found 
him  out  when  the  battle  was  over,  and  I 
just  took  him  in  my  arms  and  hugged  him 
tight.  I  hope  we  shall  be  fast  friends  as 
long  as  we  live.  His  name  is  Benjamin 
H.  Porter,  and  he  lives  in  New  York 
State.  So  give  three  cheers  for  him,  and 
our  grand  old  State." 

The  children,  though  in  tears  at 
hearing  of  all  their  brother  had  passed 


114       THE   OEPHAN'S   HOME   MITTEN'S. 

through,  complied  with  his  wish,  and 
heartily  cheered  the  brave  young  mid- 
shipman and  the  dear  old  State.  Then 
the  little  mother  went  on  reading — 

"  The  grand,  comfortable  wooden  camps 
of  the  enemy  were  of  course  turned  over 
to  our  use ;  and  our  miserable  captives,  who 
certainly  looked  like  mudsills — though  we 
have  the  name — were  bivouacked  outside, 
well  guarded. 

"  When  the  madness — for  such  hard- 
ness must  have  been  a  temporary  frenzy — 
left  me  after  the  battle  was  over,  I  got 
permission  to  hunt  up  poor  Walter  Averill. 
I  soon  found  him,  lying  in  a  room,  with 
iive  other  wounded  men.  His  eye  caught 
mine — a  thankful  gleam  came  into  them 
as  he  beckoned  me  to  him. 

"  '  Oh,  Walter  ! '  I  cried,  my  heart  now 
softened  and  beating  loud  with  sorrow, 
'  we've  gained  the  victory,  but   you  lie 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        115 

here  wounded ' — I  stopped,  for  my  voice 
became  choked. 

u  i  Yes,  George,  and  dying,'  he  hoarsely 
whispered.  'Thank  God  you  have  come. 
I  shall  never  see  my  home  again.  Look 
here.' 

"  He  raised  his  bloody  shirt,  and  I  saw 
the  life-blood  slowly  ebbing  away,  from  a 
ghastly  wound  in  his  breast. 

"  Oh,  mother,  don't  think  me  weak ; 
but  I  burst  into  tears,  crying,  'Walter, 
Walter,  what  will  your  mother  do  ? ' 

"  c  Will  you  take  a  message  to  her  and 
all  the  dear  ones  at  home  ? '  he  answered. 
1  Tell  them  I  fought  bravely,  and  they 
must  not  grieve,  for  victory  spread  her 
pinions  over  my  bloody  bed,  and  took 
away  the  sting  of  death.  Tell  brother 
Gus  he  must  comfort  mother,  and  stand 
with  his  arms  clasped  lovingly  round  her, 
when  the  troops  come  marching  home 
without  me.     Tell  him  to  look  upon  them 


116        THE    OKPHAN's   HOME   MITTENS. 

with  proud,  steadfast  eyes ;  for  his  brother 
filled  his  own  place  with  honor  in  the 
ranks,  while  he  was  among  them,  and  did 
not  fear  to  die.  It  is  God's  will.  He 
knows  best.' 

"  '  And,  George,  there  is  another.  She 
who  was  to  have  been  my  dear  wife  when 
I  came  back.'  He  turned  away  his  head, 
and  through  my  own  blinding  tears  I  saw 
the  great  woful  drops  roll  down  his 
cheeks. 

"cOh,  "Walter,'  I  sobbed,  'it's  too 
hard ! ' 

"  ■  Next  Tuesday  would  have  been  my 
birthday,'  he  said.  c  I  should  have  been 
twenty-two  years  old.  Some  little  pre- 
cious gift  will  be  sure  to  come  from  Helen. 
If  it  comes  in  time,  will  you  lay  it  on  my 
\  breast  to  be  buried  with  me  ?  But  if  too  late, 
take  care  of  it,  and  return  it  to  her  when 
you  find  an  opportunity.  And  cut  one  or 
two  locks  of  my  hair  for  my  mother,  and 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        117 

my  poor — '  his  face  changed  all  at  once. 
With  a  last,  dying  effort  he  put  his  hand 
to  his  neck  and  drew  out  a  ribbon,  to 
which  was  attached  a  miniature,  and  placed 
it  in  my  hand.  Then  in  a  voice  faint, 
hoarse,  dying,  he  murmured  '  Mother — 
Helen.'  One  fluttering  sigh,  and  he  lay 
quite  still.     He  was  dead. 

"  The  first  pale  moonbeam  came  creep- 
ing in,  and  rested  softly  on  his  face.  It 
was  calmly  looking  down  on  the  red  sand 
of  the  battle  field  with  its  bloody  corses 
strewn  here  and  there  ;  and  it  was  shining 
as  calmly  upon  you  at  home,  dear  mother, 
who  knew  nothing  then  of  that  dreadful 
scene.  As  I  thought  of  this,  and  the  an- 
guish the  events  of  that  day  would  make 
for  Walter's  family,  and  many  another 
beside,  I  threw  my  head  down  on  my 
dear  lost  comrade's  bed,  and  sobbed  till  I 
thought  my  heart  would  break. 

"  I  send  the  miniature,  the  locks  of 


118       THE    OEPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS. 

hair,  and  the  little  package  that  came  the 
day  after  we  buried  him,  with  this  letter. 
You  will  have  to  make  these  sad  tidings 
known  to  his  family.  No  one  can  do  it  as 
tenderly — but,  l  "Walter  TciUed  !  '  There 
is  no  softening  of  that  terrible  word. 

*  Good-by,  dear  mother,  and  all  my 
dear  ones.  Write  often  to  me  ;  and,  above 
all,  pray  for 

"  Your  loving  son  and  brother, 

"  George ." 

As  the  letter  concluded,  Harry,  who 
loved  his  friend,  Gus  Averill,  next  to  his 
own  brothers,  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  poor  Gus ! " 
— threw  his  arms  on  the  table,  and  laying 
his  forehead  on  them,  gave  way  to  such 
terrible  convulsive  sobs  that  it  seemed  as 
if  his  very  heart  was  bursting  with  grief. 
The  poor  children  could  not  comfort  him, 
for  they  were  crying  themselves.  Grate- 
ful that  their  own  dear  brother  was  safe, 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        119 

they  could  still  feel  the  sharp  sting  of 
sympathetic  sorrow*  at  their  friend's  loss. 
No  family  had  taken  a  greater  interest  in 
the  children's  evening  work  for  the  soldiers 
than  Mrs.  Averill's  ;  and  for  the  first  time 
that  winter,  the  whole  evening  was  passed 
by  them  alone,  and  in  a  mournful  silence ; 
for  the  little  mother  went  immediately  on 
her  sad  and  terrible  errand,  and  did  not 
return  till  quite  late. 

But  a  loving,  thankful  letter  was  to  be 
despatched  without  delay  to  the  dear  son 
and  brother ;  and  as  there  was  a  prospect 
of  his  remaining  some  time  in  his  present 
quarters,  a  box  of  comforts  was  eagerly 
prepared. 

Every  one  of  the  children  wrote  let- 
ters perfectly  running  over  with  love  and 
joy  at  his  safety  ;  and  Willie  and  Bennie, 
with  immense  efforts  and  a  great  deal  of 
rubbing  out  to  make  them  better,  sent  to 


120       THE   OEPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS. 

him  divers  pictures  which  they  had  drawn 
on  purpose  to  please  him. 

Bennie  sent  this — which  he  called  Gen- 
eral Floyd — with  a  shield  with  a  C  in  the 
middle  for  "  Confederate,"  and  four  legs  to 
show  how  very  fast  he  could  run.  I  am 
sure  we  all  ought  to  be  glad  he  did  run  ; 
fpr  the  expression  of  his  face,  if  Bennie's 
portrait  is  correct,  is  enough  to  strike  ter- 
ror and  dismay  to  the  heart  of  every  loyal 
soul. 

Willie  made  a  likeness  of  President 
Davis,  with  a  crown  on  his  head,  and 
pointing  with  a  grin  to  the  stars,  which 
represented  the  Southern  States. 

Then  Bennie  made  an  elegant  picture 
of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  with  the  Ameri- 
can eagle  in  one  of  the  corners  looking  ap- 
provingly at  it,  all  travelling  down  to- 
gether to  kill  a  turkey  buzzard  and  a 
mud  turtle,  which  somebody  told  him 
were    Southern    productions.       He    put 


Bourne's  Portrait  of  Geol. 

Floyd. 


Willie's  "  Cavalry  Picture.' 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        121 

numbers  on  the  heads  of  those  he  meant 
for  our  generals,  also  on  the  guns,  and 
Southern  celebrities ;  and  left  the  Ameri- 
can eagle  and  the  privates  to  get  along 
as  well  as  they  could  without  them. 

When  Willie  was  favored  with  a 
glance  at  this  remarkable  picture,  he  con- 
cluded that  it  would  never  do  for  him  to 
take  no  notice  of  the  army  ;  so  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  production  of  a  cavalry 
scene.  Here  it  is.  I  think  the  horse  with 
five  tails  and  a  square  lump  on  his  back, 
is  particularly  fine,  or  funny ;  but  Willie 
is  very  proud  of  the  whole  thing,  and  wants 
to  have  it  framed,  and  hung  up  in  the 
parlor  when  George  comes  home. 

A  few  days  after,  George  wrote  another 
letter,  which  was  much  more  cheerful. 
He  said : 

"February  17th,  1862. 

"  Dear  Mother  : 

"  We  are  quietly  bivouacked  here,  and 
vi. — 6 


122        THE   OKPHAST's   HOME   MITTENS. 

everything  is  coining  right  except  the  loss 
of  our  friends. 

"  I  send  you  a  rough  sketch  of  the  tent 
in  which  we  worshipped  on  Sundays.  We 
have  the  Presbyterian  form  of  service,  and 
every  one  seems  to  enjoy  the  holy  quiet  of 
the  day.  It  seems  so  dreadful  that  most 
of  our  battles  have  been  fought  on  Sun- 
day. Ah !  I  am  called.  I  will  write 
more  to-morrow  if  I  can. 

"  February  23d  I  am  so  glad  that  my 
letter  did  not  go  the  other  day,  as  it  gives 
me  the  opportunity  to  thank  you  all — 
dear,  dear  ones !  for  your  letters.  The 
box,  of  course,  of  which  you  speak,  cannot 
be  here  near  as  quickly,  as  the  express  has 
thousands  upon  thousands  to  deliver. 

"  But  Bennie  and  Willie  !  what  shall  I 
say  to  express  my  delight  at  their  elegant 
pictures !  I  have  pinned  them  to  my 
tent,  and  I  look  at  them  and  think  that 
never    were    such    funny,   darling    little 


f?a 


The  Army  of  the  Totomac. 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.        123 

brothers  before  !  and  certainly  never  were 
more  perfect  pictures  of  the  kind.  Here 
is  a  drawing  of  an  ambulance,  which  I 


send  in  return :  two  poor  wounded  soldiers 
are  inside,  and  two  sitting  behind  with 
their  arms  in  slings ;  and  here  is  one  I 
have  made  of  the  celebration  we  had 
yesterday  in  honor  of  Washington's  birth- 
day. It  was  a  pretty  rough  affair ;  and 
the  few  natives  who  gathered  round,  did 
not  remind  me  in  the  least  of  New  York. 
The  country  people  here  are  very  uncouth 
and  ignorant ;  and  do  not  seem  to  know 
what  comfort  is,  as  we  understand  it. 
They  "  reckon  "  about  everything ;  and 
when  they  consider  themselves  fortunate  in 


124        THE    ORPHAN'S    H03EE   MITTENS. 

any  possession,  they  say  they  "  reckon " 
they  have  a  "  pretty  smart  chance  "  of  it. 

"  I  am  cheerful  during  the  day,  but  in 
my  dreams  at  night,  I  still  hear  the  deadly 
whiz  of  bullets,  and  feel  the  horrible 
breath  of  the  great  balls  and  shells  on  my 
cheek.  You  can  form  no  idea  of  the 
peculiar  sensation  it  causes.  Then  poor 
"Walter's  dying  fomi  and  words  rise  up 
in  my  brain ;  and  I  go  over  that  woful 
scene,  again  and  again.  It  will  be  many 
a  long  month  before  I  can  think  of  him 
without  grief.  He  was  beloved  by  every- 
body in  the  regiment.  Tell  this,  dear 
mother,  to  his  family. 

"Tell  Bennie,  I  think  General  Floyd 
must  have  used  all  his  four  legs  when  he 
ran  away  so  fast  from  Fort  Donelson; 
while  that  brave  Commodore  Foote  stuck 
like  wax  to  his  duty,  and  did  not  leave 
the  fort  till  he  had  put  not  only  his  own 
foot  in  it,  but  the  foot  of  every  man  who 


Celebration  of  Washington's  Birthday. 


THE    OEPHAN's    HOME    MITTENS.        125 

helped  him  to  take  it.     That's  the  kind 
of  Foote  for  us  !     Isn't  it,  Bennie  % 

"  And  tell  Willie,  I  showed  his  picture 
of  Jeff.  Davis  grinning  at  his  stars,  to  a 
darkey,  who  waits  upon  me ;  and  he 
stooped  over,  put  his  hands  on  his  knees, 
and  said,  laughing,  "  Hech  !  hech  !  y-a-h  ! 
Mas'  Jeff.  Davis,  he  grin  toder  side  he 
mouf,  binieby  ;  he  mighty  fas'  wid  he  larf. 
Let  ole  Mas'  Linkum  'lone.  He  knows. 
He  make  me  for  free,  de  Lord  bress  him  !  " 

"  Oh !  oh !  how  I  wish  I  could  be 
with  you  all  for  just  one  day.  I  think  I 
should  kiss  and  hug  you  nearly  to  death. 

"  Don't  forget  to  read  my  letters  to 
Aunt  Fanny,  dear  little  old  soul !  I  am 
afraid  she  will  forget  me,  or  will  not  have 
me  hanging  round  her  any  more,  now  that 
I  have  got  so  big  and  clumsy.  But  she 
need  not  try  to  get  rid  of  me.  I'm  a  deal 
the  strongest,  and  if  she  says  she  won't 
have  me  for  one  of  her  children  forever 


126        THE   OEPHA^'s    HOME   MITTENS. 

and  a  day,  I'll  come  home  and  pack  her 
up  in  my  cartridge  box,  and  keep  her 
there  till  she  repents  of  her  cruelty.  Tell 
her  that  I  would  rather  she  should 

Stab  me  through, 
And  shoot  me  too, 
And  kill  me,  which  is  worse,  worse,  worse, 

than  to  refuse  to  consider  me  as  one  of 
her  boys. 

"  And  now,  dear  sisters  and  brothers, 
I  must  get  ready  for  parade.  I  love  you 
all,  oh,  how  dearly !  God  grant  we  may 
meet  again.  Pray  that  this  awful  war 
between  brothers,  which  is  literally,  most 
sadly  true  in  many  cases,  may  come  to  a 
sjDeedy  ending ;  and  pray  for,  and  love 
your  son  and  brother,  Geoege." 

You  may  be  sure  I  got  all  the  letters 
to  read ;  and  every  scrap  of  news  about 
my  dear  boy,  that  the  little  mother  and 
her  children  could  glean.     We  knew  that 


THE   ORPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.        127 

he  had  won  the  warm  approbation  of  his 
superior  officers  for  his  coolness  and 
bravery  in  the  battle  ;  but  not  a  word  did 
we  hear  from  him  in  praise  of  himself. 

A  few  evenings  after  this  letter,  all  the 
mittens  were  gathered  together  for  the 
last  time ;  for,  as  spring  approached,  no 
more  could  be  needed,  at  least  this  winter ; 
and  all  prayed,  that  when  another  cold 
season  came  round,  it  would  be  bright  with 
peace  restored  all  over  our  beloved  land. 

There  were  just  twenty-one  pairs. 
George's  birthday  would  come  on  the  8th 
of  March,  when  he  would  be  of  age,  and 
they  hoped  that  a  box  containing  these 
mittens  and  a  loving  gift  from  each  and 
every  member  of  his  family,  would  reach 
him  in  time. 

"  Twenty-one  years  old !  "  cried  Harry. 
"  Why,  George  can  vote  !  I  think  that  is 
the  very  best  of  being  a  man." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  a  voice  at  the  door. 


128        THE   ORPHANS   H03IE   MITTENS. 

"  Oh,  Aunt  Fanny  !  you  little  darling ; 
come  help  us  count  up  our  mittens." 

Down  we  sat,  with  pencils  and  paper, 
and  did  dreadful  hard  sums,  the  smaller 
ones  thought,  casting  up  the  long  column 
of  mittens  which  had  been  sent  to  the 
brave  soldiers.  Poor  Mary  O'Keilly  had 
rubbed  her  red  bags  off  at  last,  and  was 
sitting  close  to  Pet,  comfortably  washing 
her  face,  while  the  "  tremendous  dog " 
winked  lazily  at  us,  to  let  us  know  that  he 
was  all  right,  and  on  our  side. 

How  many  do  you  guess  had  been 
made  and  given,  beside  those  the  little 
play  brought  %  Just  take  the  six  books, 
turn  to  the  last  pages  of  each,  and  then 
count  up  for  yourselves.  It  will  make  a 
very  nice  little  sum  in  arithmetic. 

And,  my  darings,  it  will  do  more,  I 
hope,  and  believe.  It  will  show  you  that 
chidren  can  do  a  great  deal  of  good,  if  they 
only  try.  If  I  have  proved  this  to  your 
satisfaction,  and  if  you  should  ever  form 


THE    ORPHAN'S    nOME    MITTENS.        129 

or  join  a  children's  society  to  work  for  the 
soldiers,  or  help  the  poor,  I  really  think 
you  must  let  me  know  it,  so  that  I  can 
write  you  a  letter,  or  come  and  give  you 
a  ^ood,  loving  kiss. 

And  now,  as  my  book  is  already  get- 
ting too  long,  I  can  only  tell  you  that 
George  remained  in  his  beloved  General 
Burnside's  division  during  the  spring  and 
summer  of  this  year,  1862  ;  doing  his  duty 
well,  and  winning  the  respect  and  love 
of  all  who  knew  him. 

At  first  the  General  thought  he  was 
only  a  dandified  chap,  without  much  fight- 
ing in  him,  because  his  hair  was  parted 
so  very  evenly  down  the  back  of  his  head, 
and  his  gloves  and  boots  were  always,  the 
one  so  snowy  white,  and  the  other  so 
brilliantly  black.  The  General  did  not 
know,  as  we  do,  that  our  little  Johnny  had 
given  George   a  comb,  expressly  that  he 

might    make    that  very   particular    part- 
vi.— 6* 


130       THE   OEPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS. 

ing ;  and  that  Ms  habits  of  scrupulous 
neatness  in  dress  were  a  part  of  "West 
Point  and  home  education,  which  he 
would  never  neglect.  But  it  was  not 
long  before  the  little  mother's  soldier  son 
was  rated  as  his  courage  and  merits  de- 
served; in  proof  of  which  he  was  soon 
writing  a  letter  home,  with  the  good  news 
that  he  had  been  chosen  one  of  the  Gen- 
eral's aids,  and  had  had  a  horse  given  him, 
whose  merits,  in  his  estimation,  were  very 
little  inferior  to  Mr.  Bonner's  famous  horse 
Lantern. 

*  #  #  #  #  * 

Ah !  how  I  grieve  to  part  with  you, 
my  dear  little  readers.  As  I  write,  I  al- 
ways think  of  the  sweet  and  bright  eyes 
that  will  read,  and  the  small  hands  that 
will  hold  my  true  story  book.  I  wonder 
to  myself  if  you  have  good  and  pure 
hearts;  and  then  I  pray  for  you  all, 
though  I  do  not  know  you,  and  hope  that 


THE   OEPHAN'S   HOME   MITTENS.        131 

you  are  obedient,  lovely  children.  Above 
all,  I  pray  that  no  written  or  spoken  word 
of  mine  will  ever  do  you  the  least  grain 
of  harm.  It  would  make  me  most 
wretched,  did  I  think  it  possible. 

Before  I  say  good-by,  I  must  tell  you 
what  I  saw  the  other  day,  in  one  of  the 
splendid  show  windows  of  Ball  &  Black's 
magnificent  store. 

An  elegant  sword  and  belt  lay  on  the 
velvet  cover,  and  above  was  a  sheet  of 
parchment  with  an  inscription,  which  I 
went  in  and  asked  permission  to  copy,  as 
I  knew  you  would  be  delighted  to  read 
it.     Here  it  is : 

"  Presented  by  the  citizens  of  Lockport 
to  Midshipman  Benjamin  H.  Porter,  as  a 
testimony  of  their  appreciation  of  his  gal- 
lant conduct  at  Roanoke  Island."  (  We 
know  something  about  that,  donH  we  t ) 

"  Midshipman  Porter  was  but  seventeen 
years  old,  when,  at  the  battle  of  Boanoke 


132     the  orphan's  home  mittens. 

Island,  his .  noble  daring  elicited  the  ad- 
miration of  his  superior  officer,  who  ex- 
claimed, l-  My  brave  boy,  you  have  won 
your  epaulettes ! ' 

"  He  led  his  battery,  six  Dahlgren  how- 
itzers, through  the  swamp,  and,  in  the  face 
of  a  galling  fire,  continued  to  load  and  dis- 
charge one  of  his  guns,  after  every  man 
around  him  had  been  shot  down ;  bravely 
remaining  at  his  post  until  the  enemy  was 
dislodged  and  had  made  an  unconditional 
surrender." 

Oh  !  how  pleased  I  was  to  see  this  tes- 
timony, and  touch  with  my  hand  the  sword 
that  his  true  and  brave  hands  would  clasp. 

I  had  just  written  the  last  word,  when 
my  little  Alice's  grandpapa  •  came  into  the 
room,  and  handed  her  a  package,  saying, 
"Here,  Monsieur  Pop,  your  uncle  John 
has  sent  you  something  by  a  soldier  who 
came  home  wounded,  and  too  ill  to  fight; " 
and  he  handed  her  a  little  parcel. 


THE   ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        133 

This  uncle  was  my  dear  brother  John. 
He  had  been  in  some  dreadful  battles,  and 
we,  like  all  left  at  home,  suffered  constant 
anxiety  about  him,  dreading  that  each  day 
misrht  brins:  bad  news. 

He  had  been  very  ill  with  the  terrible 
fever,  which,  I  believe,  has  killed  more  than 
the  guns  of  the  enemy,  and  had  taken  M  a 
cartload  or  so "  of  quinine,  which  is  the 
very  bitterest  medicine  that  ever  was  in- 
vented. It  ought  always  to  cure,  it  is  so 
very  bad  to  take.  It  did  cure  my  brother ; 
and,  so  far,  we  were  grateful  to  know,  that 
though  foremost  in  the  fight,  no  bullet  had 
yet  touched  him. 

So  Alice  eagerly  took  the  parcel,  and 
undid  it — my  father  and  I  looking  on  with 
our  eyes  very  wide  open.  Inside  the  first 
paper  were  three  smaller  parcels.  She 
unrolled  the  smallest  first,  and  out  came  a 
little  doWs  china  leg,  with  the  foot  broken  off. 

"  Why,  how  funny !  "  she  exclaimed. 


134        THE   OKPHAN'S   H03IE   MITTENS. 

Then  the  next  was  quickly  opened. 
Another  little  china  leg,  this  time  with  a 
foot  encased  in  a  black  gaiter  boot,  with  a 
straw-colored  sole  to  it — all  painted  on,  of 
course. 

The  thir(J  parcel  contained  a  china  head 
and  neck,  very  pretty,  and  quite  perfect. 

"  Oh,"  cried  Alice,  "what  a  pretty  doll's 
head  !  only  she  has  no  seam  to  her  hair. 
It  must  be  because  she  is  a  secession  doll." 

We  laughed,  and  wondered  what  it 
meant,  till  we  noticed  that  one  of  the 
papers  had  something  written  on  it.  They 
were  printed  pages,  and  seemed  to  be  a 
report  of  something  ;  but  one  of  them  had 
a  blank  side,  and  on  this  was  written  in 
faint  pencil  marks — 

"  Camp  near  Harbison's  Landing,  ) 
August  12, 1862.      [ 

"  My  Deak  Father  : 

"  This,  with  its  accompanying  parcel, 
will  be  handed  to  you  by  a  comrade,  who 


THE    OKPHAN's    HOME    MITTENS.        135 

has  gone  home  ill.  The  parcel  contains 
the  head  and  legs  of  a  porcelain  doll.  I 
picked  them  up  last  week,  when  out  scout- 
ing with  the  regiment,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  James  river.  They  had  been  taken,  I 
suppose,  from  one  of  the  houses  of  an  F. 
F.  V.,  and  dropped  again.  I  found  them 
on  the  estate  of  the  Euffin  family,  one  of 
whom  fired  the  first  gun  at  Sumter. 

"  Give  it  to  Alice,  with  my  love,  and 
let  her  place  it  in  disgrace  among  her  nu- 
merous family  as  'Miss  Secesh.'      I  will 
write  you  by  mail  to-day  or  to-morrow. 
"  Your  affectionate  son, 

"  John." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Alice,  "  I  am  sorry  for 
the  little  girl  that  lost  her  doll ;  but  I'm 
glad  I've  got  it.  What  a  good  uncle  John, 
to  send  it  to  me  !  " — and  she  immediately 
whirled  round  and  made  two  cheeses,  in 
honor  of  the  event. 


136        THE    OEPHAN's    HOME   MITTEN'S. 

u  How  many  dolls  will  that  make  ? "  in* 
quired  Grandpa. 

"  Let  me  see,"  she  answered,  thinking, 
with  her  ringer  on  her  lip.  "  Forty-one  paper 
dolls.  Then  there  is  Willie,  my  small  china 
doll ;  Anna,  my  large  china  doll ;  Baby, 
my  wax  doll,  that  cries,  and  opens  and 
shuts  its  eyes ;  Genevieve  Virginie,  my 
new  porcelain  doll ;  and  Miss  Secesh. 

"  Bless  me  ! "  said  Grandpa,  u  what  a 
family  to  look  after !  You  ought  to  write 
down  the  day  you  got  Miss  Secesh — twen- 
ty-fourth of  August." 

"  No,  Grandpa,"  said  Alice,  "  it  is  the 
twenty-tooth — " 

'  "  So  it  is,"  cried  Grandpa — while  I  had 
to  run  and  look  out  of  the  window,  so 
that  the  dear  little  old  monkey  should  not 
see  me  laughing  at  her  funny  mistake. 
She  meant  the  "  twenty-second ; "  but  you 
see  she  spoke  in  a  hurry. 

And  now  I  must  really  say  good-by, 


THE    ORPHAN'S    HOME   MITTENS.        137 

my  darlings,  and  throw  my  pen  out  of  the 

window. 

The  door  opens.      Every  one  of  the 

Little  Mother's  children  rush  in. 

"  What  ? ! !  what  is  that  you  say  ? ! " 
"  Yes,  Aunt  Fanny  !    George  is  made  a 

Captain  !     Hurrah  ! ! ! " 


END  OF  THE  SIXTH  AND  LAST  BOOK. 


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44    5.  JACK  AND  THE  BEAN  STALK. 
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LIBRARY  OF  TRAVEL  AND  ADVENTURE.    4  thick  vok, 
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M 
M 


M 


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D.  Appleton  6:  Company's  Juvenile  Works. 


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***  The  success  of  this  very  beautiful  and  interesting  toy  book  is 
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THE  WANDERERS  BY  SEA  AND  LAND,  WITH  OTHER 
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THE  WEEKS  DELIGHT;  or,  GAMES  AND  STORIES  FOB 
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WINTER  (A)  WEEATH  OF  SUMMEE  FLOWERS.      By  S. 
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YOUNG  AMEEICANS  PICTURE  GALLERY.   Containing  500 
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YOUTHS  BOOK  OF  NATURE.     New  edition.     1  vol.,  square 
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RARE  BOOK 
COLLECTION 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT 

CHAPEL  HILL 

Wilmer 
88 


